A police investigation has been launched after the body of a man was found on fire in a suburban park in west London.
Police were called to Belvue Park in Northolt just after 4.37am on Monday by the London fire brigade following calls from the public.
The Ealing police Twitter account said: “Officers are working to identify the deceased, at this stage believed to be male, and inform next of kin.”
Statement re police presence in Belvue Park, #Northolt #Ealing. pic.twitter.com/ouU7FSSP1d
— Ealing Police (@ealingMPS) June 13, 2022
The death is being described as unexplained as investigators try to establish the cause of the fire. There have been no arrests. A cordon remains in place at the scene.
The London fire brigade said it was called to the park on Rowdell Road at 4.19am. It said the incident was declared over by 4.56am. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire brigade and the Metropolitan police.
Aysha Raza, Ealing council’s cabinet member for tackling inequality, who has responsibility for tackling crime, said news of the incident had come as a shock to the area.
She said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased. We don’t know very much about what has happened. We need to let the police get on with their inquiries so that we can know what to do next.”
She described the area around Belvue Park as suburban and a “nice area on the whole”. She added: “Everybody sort of gets on with it. Everybody is from different backgrounds and different communities. And we all generally get along pretty well.”
Chris Summers, the Labour councillor for Northolt Mandeville, which includes Belvue Park, said: “I am horrified to hear of this incident. My thoughts are with the family of the dead man. And I’m sure the whole community will be shocked by it. We trust the police will get to the bottom of what happened.”
He said the area the park was situated in was not associated with crime.
In 2011, Adeniyi Shode, from Edgware, was stabbed to death near Belvue Park in an unsolved murder believed to be related to a drug deal.
