Body of man found in canal

The body of a 49-year-old man has been dragged from a stretch of canal in the Black Country.

A passer-by made the grim discovery yesterday morning at the Scarborough Road canal bridge, off Darlaston Road, in Walsall.

Blue and white police tape sealed off the area, while the body was removed and four police divers scoured the canal for further clues.

It is believed the man was a Polish national and forensic officers are carrying out a post mortem to find out the circumstances, but police added that the death is not believed to be suspicious.

Officers are appealing for anybody who was in the vicinity of the canal yesterday morning to get in contact with Walsall CID.

Boss of the nearby Thomas Orton timber yard, Derek Horton, was shocked at the discovery.

He said: "Police were already there when we opened up at 10am.

"A policewoman came and asked us if our CCTV cameras were working so she could look at videos.

"About 10 minutes later, an ambulance arrived to take away the body."

Walsall police are now asking anyone who saw how the man ended up in the canal to get in touch on 0845 113 5000.