Burning body found on track

A police officer guards the crime scene in Essex

A murder inquiry has begun after the burning body of a man was found on a country track in Essex.

The body, which has not been identified, was found on fire at the entrance to a dirt track near Chelmsford.

A post mortem examination on Thursday revealed the man was already dead before the fire started, after being suffocated.

The man was white, aged under 40, and was between 5ft 6ins and six feet tall. He had a surgical bandage and dressing on his upper forearm.

Identification difficult

The remains are so charred identification is proving difficult.

On Thursday forensic experts examined the scene, following the discovery of the body near Galleywood at about 2315 BST on Wednesday.

Two items were found near the body. One was a piece of heavy blue twill fabric, believed to be a shirt, with Versace Classic silver stud button.

The second was a small square metal box containing a plaque engraved with Hackney Racecourse 1988.

'Short cut'

Police are trying to establish whether the two items have any connection with the murdered man.

His body was found by two people who passed the scene and called the fire service.

"The road is used as a short cut between local towns and villages and detectives would like to speak to anyone who travelled the route on Wednesday night," said a police spokesman.

"Witnesses reported seeing others using the road at the time of the discovery and we would particularly like to hear from these people."