Body found outside Boots on Townsmoor Retail Park, Blackburn

Police received a call from a passer-by at around 6.51am, saying there was a body lying at the front of the Boots store close to the public car park.

Three police cars and a Crime Scene Investigation van were despatched and a cordon was put up at the front of the store.

The identity of the man, who is thought to be in his thirties, has not been confirmed.

At 10.30am the police cordon was still up but had been reduced to allow customers to enter the Boots store.

One police car and the CSI van remained at the scene, and a tent was also erected before shoppers arrived at the retail park, which will remain in place until the body is removed.

Officers at the scene said they were waiting on CID to arrive before the body could be recovered and were expected to remain at the incident no longer than was necessary.

Police allowed shoppers onto the retail park when it opened at 9am but access to Boots was cordoned off.

By 10am, access to the Boots store had been made available to shoppers as the retail park began to fill up.

One shopper, Mick Jones, said: "I just came to do a bit of Christmas shopping and wondered what was going on when I arrived.

"It's usually really busy on here at this time so this is quite quiet for a Saturday morning.".

One shopper, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's so sad, I hope it wasn't a homeless man, it's so cold out here and it was freezing last night, it must've been awful for him."

The death of the man is not being treated as suspicious at this time.