Detectives find body of man in the grounds of Petersfield home

Body of man in his 40s is found in the garden of £1.5million home as police use metal detectors to hunt for clues after revealing they are treating death as ‘unexplained’

The body of a man in his 40s was discovered in the garden of home on Sunday
Police have sealed off the house and brought in officers to search the grounds
Hampshire Constabulary say the death is currently being treated as unexplained

By Richard Spillett, Crime Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 14:11 GMT, 12 November 2018 | Updated: 17:52 GMT, 12 November 2018

Police are investigating after the body of a man in his 40s was found in the grounds of a £1.5million house on the South Downs.

Detectives descended on the property near Petersfield, Hampshire following the discovery on Sunday morning by a retired couple who own the six bedroom home.

Witnesses said officers were seen using metal detectors to search the home’s extensive gardens in an apparent search for clues.

Police are searching the grounds of this £1.5million Hampshire home after the body of a man was found in the garden

A team of police has been called in to search the grounds after the investigation was launched

The substantial red-brick property in Midhurst Road, which has several acres of garden and a three-berth garage, is owned by Iain Palmer, 70 and his 64 year old wife Susan.

Neighbours in Petersfield, Hampshire said Susan found the body when she left the house to go for a run.

A retired man who lives nearby and did not want to be named said: ‘Sue and Iain are totally bewildered and shocked by it all. As you can imagine it’s quite distressing.’

A female neighbour said:’It has nothing to do with the owners. They found this man yesterday morning and obviously are very upset by the whole thing.

‘The area has been treated like a crime scene ever since and we’ve all had the police around.

‘The local road – the A272 – is used like a race track these days and so one wonders if he was hit and staggered into the garden.

‘It’s all very strange and it’s absolutely not something anyone here would have expected to happen.

A post mortem examination on the body was due to be carried out later today.

Hampshire Police say the death is currently being treated as unexplained.

At least six officers were seen searching the grounds this morning.

Hampshire Police spokesman Jack Backwell today said: ‘We were called at 9.40am on Sunday 11 November to a report that the body of a man in his 40s had been found in a garden in Midhurst Road, Petersfield.

‘Police attended the scene and a cordon remains in place at this time.

‘Formal identification of the man has not yet taken place.

‘A post mortem examination is due to take place on Monday afternoon.