Boy of seven finds dead body in the woods while searching for his lost football

A BOY retrieving a football found a body in the woods behind his garden.

The seven-year-old had first thought the man, in his thirties, was asleep and called his sister to help him wake him.

The family, of Shanklin, Isle of Wight, said there had been a strange smell in the garden for days.

Hampshire cops are trying to identify the man but are not treating the death as suspicious.

The childrens’ mother, who did not want to be named, said her daughter had suffered with terrifying nightmares since the discovery.

She added: “It is very sad and all we can hope is that the man’s family have some closure now.”

A spokesman for Hampshire police said: “The body of a man was found on an area of land behind houses in Shanklin.

“At this stage the death is not being treated as suspicious.
“Identification procedures remain ongoing. A file is being prepared for the coroner.”

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