Artist's image released in hope of identifying man found dead in Rivington

Police hoping to identify a man whose body was found near a road have released a forensic artist's image of what the man looked like.

The man was discovered near to Horrobin Lane in Rivington, on 7 December, and officers believe he could have been there "for a short period of time".

Lancashire Police say it believes the man was 40-50 years old, with a dark goatee-style beard, cropped dark but slightly greying hair, of medium to large build.

He was wearing a green ‘Fo’ jacket, black ‘Slazenger’ tracksuit bottoms, a white/grey ‘Soulcal & Co’ t-shirt, and green coloured wellington boots.

He was also wearing a distinctive orange coloured ‘Casio’ digital watch, with no obvious tattoos or scars.

Officers say they have liaised with other forces, the NCA and Interpol to try and identify the man and his next of kin but have so far been unsuccessful.

They have also used appeals, local enquiries, facial recognition, fingerprints, and DNA, and now hope the artist-created image will help the public recognise him.

However, they are unable to tell the eye colour or nationality of the man.

Whilst a post-mortem has taken place, it has not identified the cause of death, but there are thought to be no suspicious circumstances.

Det. Insp. Paul Price, of Preston CID, said: “This is an incredibly sad situation where this man has been found dead in a public place.

“Our priority is to find out who he is, identify him, to be able to notify his loved ones, and to give him a fitting farewell.

“This is where we ask you, the public, for your help. If you recognise the man, whether he be a family member, a friend, a colleague, a neighbour or even someone you haven’t seen out and about over the last few months, please get in touch.

“If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you may think it to be, that could assist our investigation, or you think you may know who the man is, we’d ask you to please get in touch with us.”

You can phone 101, or email the force quoting log 0783 of December 7, 2023.