Manchester homeless man murder: Police arrest five more over killing of Daniel Smith

Firefighters discovered body of Mr Smith as they tackled blaze under railway arch in Salford

Daniel Smith's body was discovered by emergency services after the blaze was extinguished at the site beneath a railway bridge in Salford (GMP)

Three men, a woman and a teenage boy have been arrested by detectives investigating the death of a homeless man whose body was found in a burning tent.

Firefighters discovered the body of Daniel Smith as they tackled a blaze under a railway arch in Salford, Greater Manchester, during the early hours of 20 January.

Police launched a murder inquiry after a post-mortem found the 23-year-old, who had been homeless for some time, died from multiple injuries.

Greater Manchester Police said on Monday that officers had arrested three men aged 26, 24, and 19, a woman aged 28 and a boy aged 16 on suspicion of murder.

It comes as two men aged 25 and 31 arrested on Sunday on suspicion of murder remain in police custody for questioning.

A boy aged 16 arrested in the early hours of Saturday and a man, 24, arrested on Friday, have both been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick, from Greater Manchester Police’s Major Investigation Team, said: “We now have several people in custody who are being questioned in relation to Daniel’s death and our enquiries remain ongoing.

“We have specialist officers providing ongoing support to Daniel’s family and I would ask for anyone who has information that could assist this police investigation to please get in touch and tell us what they know.”