Headless body found beside garage

John Finney was abducted in February

A headless and handless body has been discovered beside a garage block in Hertfordshire.

The body was found by a member of the public on Friday evening near Icknield Close, Ickleford, near Hitchin.

The area was cordoned off by police and a murder investigation has been started by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

Police do not yet know the identity of the victim. Officers had been searching for missing traveller John Finney.

The 42-year-old was abducted from his Mitsubishi Shogun in Hertfordshire on 29 February.

His car was abandoned at Park Farm, Northaw, Hertfordshire, but he has not been found.

A Hertfordshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that the disappearance of the traveller was one line of inquiry officers were looking at in connection with the discovery of the body.

Police have conducted forensic tests on John Finney's Shogun car

Det Ch Insp Bill Jephson, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is being treated as a murder inquiry.

"At this stage identification has not taken place, however we are following a number of lines of inquiry.

"I want to speak to anyone in the Ickleford or anyone who has passed through the area in the last two weeks and has seen anything suspicious or to anyone who has information."

He said he did not believe the murder was a random attack.

The police spokeswoman added that anyone who had any information about Mr Finney's disappearance or about the scene of the crime was asked to call Hertfordshire Police.

She said that officers were conducting forensic examinations and searches around the site of the discovery.

"Police received reports at 1642 GMT yesterday from a member of the public that a body had been found," she said.

A post-mortem examination will take place on Sunday.