Man's body found in back of burning van as police launch investigation into mystery

An investigation has been launched after the body of a man was found in the back of a burning van.

Police were called to Paget Street in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, on Sunday (13 August) evening following reports of a fire.

When they arrived at the scene at around 8.00pm that night, police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service found a van ablaze.

And inside the vehicle, they recovered the body of an unidentified man.

According to reports, the death is currently being treated as unexplained.

A post-mortem examination is set to be carried out in order to determine what happened to the individual.

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Speaking about the tragic incident, Staffordshire Police said work was underway to gather all the facts.

"We are investigating following the discovery of a man’s body in the back of a van that was on fire in Burton," said a spokesperson for the force.

"We were called to Paget Street by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service at 7.55pm this evening (Sunday 13 August) after they were called about a van fire.

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"A man’s body was recovered from the van once fire crews had dealt with the fire. The death is currently being treated as unexplained.

"A post-mortem will be carried out in due course to establish the cause of death.

"We are keen to speak to anyone with any dashcam footage from the area or those with any information which could help."

If you have any information that could help the police with their enquiries, you're urged to contact Staffordshire Police, quoting incident 637 of 13 August.