Seven men bailed as murder investigation launched over body found down well

The body was recovered by specialist police officers on Saturday.

Two workmen made the discovery as they were doing clearing work in the front garden of a large house in Audley Drive, Warlingham, Surrey, which stands in an acre of grounds in an affluent area.

The seven held on suspicion
of murder are aged between 21 and 27. They have been bailed
to a date in late December, pending further investigation, a Scotland Yard spokesman
said.

A post-mortem examination was due to take place yesterday at East Surrey Hospital mortuary.

Det Chief Insp Cliff Lyons said: “It is a murder investigation. As far as I am concerned, when a body is found in a well it either
fell in there or was placed in there, and the evidence is apparent that the body was placed in there.”

He said the body presented a number of logistical challenges, requiring a police marine diving team with breathing apparatus to recover it intact to preserve forensic evidence.

“The well is two feet in diameter, it is seven feet deep to the water line, and the water is approximately four feet deep,” he said.

He added that it was not possible to be sure of the body’s gender, but judging by the size it was most likely to be an adult. The person was white.

Mr Lyons told reporters at the scene: “It’s not been there for an extended period of time; it will be a matter of weeks at the most.”

He was not prepared to discuss who lived in the house or a suggestion that the body was wrapped in carpet. He could not confirm whether the body was intact.

Asked about claims by local residents that there had been quite a bit of trouble in the past couple of years with the people who lived in the house, and that police had been called many times, he said: “The residents have expressed concern, there is intelligence to support that notion, yes.”

He appealed for anyone who had concerns about a person who has gone missing, especially if they had connections to that area, to come forward.

Anyone with information is urged to call police on 020 8721 4961 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.