Dead man trapped in bog

Dead man trapped in bog

The remote valley where the body was found

A man found dead trapped in a bog in the Swansea Valley may have been calling for help for days.

Police are waiting for forensic tests to help identify the man who had sunk up to his waist in a remote valley.

Officers believe the body, which was found by a farm worker, may have been stuck in the marshland at Ynysmeudwy near Pontardawe for several weeks.

Residents say they are shocked at the discovery, which police are not treating the death as suspicious.

You can only think how terrified you would be - alone with no help

Sandra Thomas

Detectives say it is feared the trapped man could have been alive for several days and calling for help.

However, no-one heard his cries.

Officers are investigating the theory that the body may be that of a man who has been missing from the area for almost two months.

'Just Terrible'

Sandra Thomas, who lives on the housing estate about two miles from the isolated farm where the body was found, said it had shocked the community.

"It is no-way for anyone to go, is it?" she said.

"You can only think how terrified you would be - alone with no help.

"This is just terrible."

She said the were several sites in the valley prone to flooding and land next to the River Tawe was often boggy throughout the winter.

DNA tests are now being carried out to confirm the identity of the body.

Another local resident, Bleddyn Howells, said: "It must have been a very slow cruel death."