POLICE have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 24-year-old local woman was found dead from multiple blunt force head injuries on May 15.

Police cordoned off Hampden Lane in Southbourne in the early hours of Sunday morning as forensics teams searched for clues as to how the woman met her death and detectives carried out door-to-door enquiries. Police are treating the death as a murder.

A 37-year-old man was arrested in the area. On Sunday afternoon a Home Office pathologist carried out a post-mortem to establish the identity of the woman and cause of death.

Locals told the Daily Echo the house in which the body was discovered belonged to a couple in their 30s who had only purchased it within the past couple of months.

One 52-year-old neighbour said: "This is a really close-knit community, everybody knows everybody and keeps an eye out for each other. The couple that live in the cottage have a couple of dogs, they seemed nice enough."

Residents knew little of what happened at the house until they awoke on Sunday to find the road, and an alleyway leading up to it, sealed off.

Iris Ainsworth, who lives in the neighbouring Stourvale Road, told the Echo: "You'd expect this sort of trouble further down but not here. I've always felt safe here - it's a nice quiet area.

"People will be shocked and there are a lot of elderly people living here who will be quite frightened."

Paul Hardman said: "This is a nice area. There has been a bit of vandalism lately but nothing like this. I'm really surprised this has happened here."

An ambulance crew was called to the house at 3am.

A coroner's officer was at the scene with police as attempts were made to establish the victim's identity and contact next of kin.

First published: May 16