Murder probe after body found by fire crews

A MURDER investigation has been launched after firefighters discovered a body when they were called to a report of a bin on fire outside a church hall.
Police investigation officers at the scene where a body was found st St Augustine, Wrangthorp, Hyde Park, Leeds.Police investigation officers at the scene where a body was found st St Augustine, Wrangthorp, Hyde Park, Leeds.
Police investigation officers at the scene where a body was found st St Augustine, Wrangthorp, Hyde Park, Leeds.

Fire crews alerted police after the body was found at about 7pm on Saturday on Hyde Park Terrace near the St Augustine’s Wrangthorn church hall in Leeds.

Detectives said it is not known if the body is that of a male or a female.

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Two men, aged 37 and 50, from the Leeds area, were arrested on suspicion of murder, West Yorkshire Police revealed yesterday.

Many of the homes in Hyde Park Terrace are used as student accommodation.

University of Leeds managing and marketing student Bradley Reeson, 20, who is living in a rented house on Hyde Park Terrace, said: “I’m shocked. You never expect things like this so close to home.”

And University of Leeds geophysics student Kirsty Hitchen, 19, of Hyde Park Terrace, added: “It‘s really scary. I walk on this road every day.”

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Police cordoned off Hyde Park Terrace between its junctions with Hyde Park Road and Midland Road yesterday.

Scenes of crimes officers dressed in white overalls were examining the area in snow-covered conditions yesterday morning.

One officer stood guard in the grounds of the Parish Church of St Augustine Wrangthorne, which is next to the church hall.

Det Supt Simon Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiries Team, urged anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area on Saturday evening to contact officers.

He said: “Inquiries are obviously at a very early stage and we are yet to confirm the circumstances of this person’s death.”

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