POLICE were today still trying to identify a man who was “brutally murdered” and then dumped in a North Yorkshire canal.

Detectives investigating the case have been interviewing every person coming near the spot where the body of an Oriental man was pulled out of Selby Canal on Friday afternoon.

The body was discovered by an off-duty police officer while he was fishing in the canal close to Burn Bridge, near the A19 between Brayton and Burn.

Anyone approaching the scene yesterday was halted by officers and asked detailed questions about when they had been in the area and what they had seen.

Detective Superintendent Karnail Dulku, who is leading the investigation, said the man had died of serious head injuries and his body could have been in the water for around two or three weeks.

“What we have here is an Oriental male who has been brutally murdered and his body dumped in the canal,” he said.

“It is believed he has been murdered elsewhere and his body deposited in the canal.

“All life is precious and what this man has suffered I’m sure he didn’t deserve.

“It is a brutal attack and he’s been presumably dumped in the canal to prevent them being caught. We have now recovered his body and we are making an appeal to the public so hopefully we will quickly identify who he is and bring us a step closer to the person or people who have done this.”

An area of the canal towpath yesterday remained cordoned off and officers were asking all passers-by to give their contact details and fill in a detailed, multi-page form.

David Dunning, The Press’s video journalist, who visited the scene on Sunday afternoon, said: “The officer told me they were stopping everyone who was down by the canal to question them.

“Even though I hadn’t actually been to this site before and couldn’t offer any information, it was interesting to see the level of detail they were going into and how hard they were working to pursue any possible line of inquiry and any clue to what has happened down there.”

Det Supt Dulku said the man was aged between his late teens and early thirties, was 5ft 7ins tall and weighed about ten stone. He said he had black, straight, collar-length hair and hoped his distinctive clothing would help identify him.

He was wearing black underpants with the logo PROEA, khaki green long-john type trousers with the logo UTEJIAO and a Calvin Klein t-shirt with a distinctive white pattern.

He was not wearing any shoes or socks.

Det Supt Dulku said: “We don’t know yet whether he was deposited in the location where we found him or he was placed in the water system elsewhere.

“We are making inquiries as to whether the lock gates on either end of the canal are used or not, but the key piece of information we need from members of the public is who is this person. We hope that somebody will recognise his clothing and identify this man. Do you know anyone who has gone missing over the last month who matches his description?

“Also, has anyone seen any suspicious activity in the area of the canal over the past few weeks?”

Anyone with information is asked to phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247 or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Residents shocked by grim discovery SHOCKED residents have spoken of their horror that a murder investigation is taking place on their doorstep.

Joanne Mosey, landlady of The Wheatsheaf Inn, in Burn, said it was the talking point of the village.

She said: “There’s a lot of talk about it in the pub.

Something like that doesn’t happen every day in a small village like this. It’s shocking.”

Tracey Santana, who lives in Burn, said she could not believe the body of a murdered man had been found so close. She said: “I think it has unsettled the village to think that something like that can go on so close to home.

“You see it on the big news – ‘body found’ – but it makes it a bit more real when it’s so close to home.”