Man in his 20s arrested on suspicion of murder after headless human torso found wrapped in plastic near river

COPS have arrested a man in his 20s amid a murder probe into a headless human torso found wrapped in plastic near a river.

A passer-by made the gruesome discovery at Kersal Dale in Salford on Thursday afternoon.

A man in his 20s from the area was arrested last night and remains in custody, cops said in a statement this morning.

The man remains in custody and will be questioned by detectives later today.

Detectives have only been able to establish that the torso belonged to a man "likely to be older than 40".

Ch Supt Creely said: "This is an important step for our investigation, but we must keep an open mind.

"A big part of this is speaking to anyone from the local community who may have useful information.

"Our main focus at this time is establishing who our victim is because at the heart of this investigation is a family somewhere who have lost a loved one."

The senior officer issued the update to press near to where the remains were found in Kersal Dale, close to Radford Street.

The human torso, found on Thursday, is that of a man thought to be aged over 40, Greater Manchester Police said on Saturday.

The force said it is now using 'all forensic techniques available' to identify the victim and inform his family.

Forensic investigators, search teams and a dog unit have been 'working round the clock'.

They remain at the scene, but so far no other remains have been discovered.

Cops in Salford believe the man had been dead for 'only a matter of days'.

Further enquiries – including DNA tests – are being carried out in a bid to identify the victim.

Anyone who thinks they may have witnessed something suspicious in the Kersal Dale area over the last few days is asked to come forward.

If that's you, call 101 and quoting log number 2695 of 4 April 2024.