POLICE investigating the death of a 49-year-old man in Burnley have made an arrest.

A 34-year-old man from Burnley was arrested on suspicion of murder this morning and is currently in custody.

More than 50 police officers have been drafted in to investigate the case.

Stephen Whitehead was found dead in the canteen of Pendle Skips, on the Heasandford Industrial Estate, where he had been working and sleeping on a casual basis for ‘a number of weeks’.

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The 49-year-old had been attacked with a blunt instrument and died as a result of several significant head injuries, police revealed yesterday. No weapon has so far been discovered.

Staff discovered his body when they arrived for work at 8am on Monday.

Police are now piecing together his last known movements on Saturday evening when he was seen drinking in The Princess Royal, in Yorkshire Street, and the White Lion, in St James Street. He was also spotted shopping in Tesco Extra in Centenary Way at around 7pm.

Detective Superintendent Paul Withers, from the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT), said Mr Whitehead was found dead after workers arrived at the firm, in Balderstone Close, to open up.

He said: “It’s a ‘whodunnit’ if I’m brutally honest. It’s a difficult inquiry at the moment. On many occasions when you’re dealing with homicide investigations, your offender is known quite early on. This is not an inquiry of this nature.

“We’re working very hard to work out where Stephen has been in the days preceding his death, who he has been with, and what he has been doing.”

Mr Withers said Mr Whitehead had fallen on troubled times, occasionally sleeping inside the skip firm and staying with several friends as he moved around ‘quite a bit’.

He said: “It appears clearly that was taking place over the weekend, and that is why he was there, simply getting his head down out the way where he probably thought he was safe. Clearly that was not the case.”

Police are now following several lines of inquiry, and think Mr Whitehead may have been killed after disturbing thieves that have been targeting the industrial estate for diesel and other commodities in recent weeks.

Mr Withers said: “There could be one offender, there could be more. It’s very important at this stage that I don’t put all my eggs in one basket and I keep an open mind. We simply don’t know at this stage and are pursuing numerous different lines of inquiry.

“I do genuinely believe this is an isolated incident. I don’t think we have somebody who is simply out of control and will attack other innocent members of the public.

“Needless to say I’m still very, very keen to apprehend this individual or individuals as soon as I possibly can.

“I’m very keen to catch up with the individuals who have attacked him, and who have killed him within the business premises.”

Mr Whitehead did not have a history of drug abuse or drinking to excess, police said.

Mr Whitehead had several siblings in the Burnley area and a daughter who is believed to live in Brierfield, who were being supported by officers yesterday.

A post-mortem examination found he died as a result of multiple head injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 182 of July 27.

Alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.