Murder squad detectives are investigating the discovery of “potentially hazardous” substances on a body dumped on a street.
Mystery surrounds the discovery on a residential road around 7pm last night (Thursday) in Shevington, Wigan. Police are working to identify the dead person and the substance.
Detective Superintendent Alan Clitherow, of Greater Manchester Police, said the identity and sex of the person will be confirmed once a Home Office post-mortem is held after the body, covered by a white and yellow police tent, has been removed from the scene.
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Speaking tonight, DS Clitherow said: “It is a challenging set of circumstances, we have got dedicated officers from the Major Incident Team, obviously less than 24 hours into the investigation, so we are now unpicking exactly what has gone on.
“We don’t know what the substance is, we have done some initial inquiries, we know it’s low risk, so as I mentioned before, anyone directly in contact with the body should seek medical advice if they feel unwell but there’s no wider risk to anyone else.”
Mr Clitherow said members of the public should not be alarmed if they see officers wearing protective clothing to remove the body, saying this is “purely precautionary”.
The body was found on Kilburn Avenue in Shevington, on rough ground between neighbouring houses, which leads to a dirt track and open fields.
The sleepy estate in a small Wigan village has been rocked by the mysterious death. Emergency services descended upon the street, just a stone's throw from two schools, as people settled down to watch TV on Thursday evening.
Upon making the discovery, police taped off a huge scene along the length of Kilburn Drive, which is just off busy B-road Shevington Lane. One end of neighbouring Lyndon Avenue was also cordoned off by cops as they investigated.
Police set up a tent between two houses and next to a clearing that leads to grassland. This morning, there also appeared to be a number of bags in the middle of the road, within the scene, close to the tent.
Although residents twitched their curtains, nobody who lived within the cordon seemed to be leaving their homes throughout the morning.
A neighbour who lived on Lyndon Avenue told MEN that he was surprised to see police cars, ambulances and fire crews at the scene when he returned home from work at around 10pm last night. "It's quiet, you never see nothing round here," he said.
"I've seen lots of rumours on social media but they [police] wouldn't tell me nothing when I got in. You think someone must have heard something."
Earlier, a statement posted on the GMP Wigan page earlier today said: "#APPEAL | At around 7pm yesterday evening (Thursday 24 November 2022) officers were called to reports of a deceased body on Kilburn Drive, Shevington in Wigan.
"Emergency services attended and sadly confirmed these reports. A scene is currently in place at the location and contained on Kilburn Drive with no disruption to the wider area.
"Police are working to identify the body and enquiries are ongoing, we are keen to speak to anyone who has any information about this incident. Police believe there are potentially hazardous substances on the body and anyone who has had direct contact with the body should speak to officers or seek medical advice immediately.
"Officers are out speaking to residents and are highly visible in the area. The scene is contained, and it is believed there is no wider risk to the surrounding area.
"We will keep the public updated when we have more information. Any information should be passed to us via LiveChat or by calling 101 quoting incident number 000910 of 25/11/2022."
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