Boy in burning skip was 'murdered'

Police and firefighters pulled Michael from the burning skip

Police have begun a murder hunt following the death of a teenage boy who was pulled from a burning skip on Tyneside.

Officers from Northumbria Police named the dead boy as 15-year-old Michael Temperley, from Low Fell, Gateshead.

Police officers and a fire crew discovered Michael after being called to a fire at a retail park in Gateshead just before 2000 BST on Monday.

Detectives told a press conference that they were treating the death as a murder investigation.

Michael was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead but died in the early hours of Tuesday.

Forensic experts are examining the skip, which had two abandoned mountain bikes alongside it.

Officers are also awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.

The area is known to be a popular haunt for youngsters.

Hospital staff treated Michael for a time in the high dependency unit.

The spokesman said two youths had been arrested and were being questioned in connection with the incident at the Team Valley retail park.