‘Potentially hazardous substances’ found on body discovered in Wigan

The body has not yet been identified

Police have found ‘potentially hazardous substances’ on a body in Kilburn Drive, Shevington (Google Maps)

Murder detectives are investigating the discovery of “potentially hazardous substances” found on a body dumped on a Wigan street.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were called to reports of a body on Kilburn Drive, Shevington at around 7pm on Thursday evening.

Emergency services attended and confirmed the discovery and sealed off the area. The body has not yet been identified, Detective Superintendent Alan Clitherow of GMP told reporters at the scene.

Mr Clitherow told the press conference that the identity and sex of the person will be confirmed once a Home Office post-mortem is held after the body has been removed from the scene.

The body is currently covered by a white and yellow police tent.

Anyone who has had contact with the body is urged to speak to police or seek medical advice immediately, though no details about what the substances could be have been released.

Mr 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.”

He 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.”

Earlier on Friday, Kilburn Drive was cordoned off, and police said they did not think there was a wider risk to the surrounding area.

The body was was discovered on Kilburn Avenue in Shevington, on rough ground between neighbouring houses, which leads to a dirt track and open fields.

Any information should be passed to Greater Manchester Police via LiveChat or by calling 101 quoting incident number 000910 of 25/11/2022.