A CYCLIST found a man’s body floating in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The man rang police after seeing the body near lock gates behind the Novia Scotia Retail Park in Blackburn at around 1.30pm yesterday.

Emergency services and passers-by gathered in the Highfield Road area, where it crosses the canal.

The road was closed off while police and firefighters recovered the body, and ambulance crews also attended.

Inspector Dave Wilson: “We think we know who it is, but we are not releasing the identity yet because we still need to make inquiries in terms of finding his next of kin.

“At this time, we don’t believe there are any suspicious circumstances.

“He is believed to be in his fifties and we don’t think he had been there for a significant amount of time.”

A bridge carries Highfield Road over the canal, where there are also some lock gates and a small footbridge.

Shakeel Rafiq, 35, who runs a nearby garage, said: “A guy on a bike was going past and saw it, and then there was a crowd of people around while the police came.

“He was face down in the water.

“The ambulance crews wrapped him up and took him away. I’m think he fell in or something.”