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Detectives investigating the death of a man found on land off a main road are treating it as suspicious.

The man, thought to be in his late 40s, was discovered in a wooded area between Dunwoody Way and Chester Street, Crewe, on 22 February, police said.

A post mortem found he had an injury consistent with an assault, the Cheshire force added.

Anybody who saw activity in the wooded area in the five days before his body was found has been urged to contact officers.

The man had been formally identified, said police, with efforts continuing to trace his next of kin.

He was a Slovakian national who had lived in Crewe for some time, and was described as small and very slim, with short brown hair.

At the time of his death he was wearing a dark hoodie, dark jeans and a dark jacket.

Det Insp Eli Atkinson said: “The man's death is being treated as potentially suspicious due to the findings of a Home Office post mortem which was carried out on 24 February and suggested an assault had taken place."

Officers were working to understand how he came about the injury and whether a crime had taken place, said the detective.

“We would like to speak to anyone who was in the area of Chester Street between 17 and 22 February and may have seen any activity within the wooded area which runs between Chester Street and Dunwoody Way.”

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