Man killed then set on fire

A MAN was killed and then set alight on a Warwickshire motorway, police have revealed.

Detectives launched a murder hunt today following the discovery of a burning body on the M45 near Dunchurch, Rugby.

A post-mortem revealed the man, aged between 45 and 75, died as a result of head injuries.

But his body was so badly burned pathologists could not confirm his race.

Detective Superintendent Adrian McGee said: “It’s an unusual place for a body to be left but it is on the side of a busy motorway.

“It is in daylight. It is unusual behaviour to set somebody alight on the side of a motorway.

“Somebody would have recognised that.

"That’s why we are appealing for anybody who was here between 12.30pm and 1.30pm yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) to come forward.

“If somebody’s taken a body out of a car on the side of a motorway it would take some time to do so, so the person would have to be parked up here, if that is what has happened, for some time.”

The alarm was raised yesterday when a motorist driving to Coventry reported a fire a mile from junction 10 of the M45 eastbound carriageway.

Highways Agency staff only noticed it was a body after the fire had been extinguished.

The motorway was cordoned off between the A45/M45 Thurlaston roundabout and junction 17 of the M1.

Scores of officers from Warwickshire Police conducted a fingertip search of the six-mile stretch of road.

Anyone with information about the body should contact Warwickshire Police on 01926 415 789 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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