POLICE investigating the death of a man found on moorland above East Lancashire say they are anxious to trace a woman seen walking her dog near the scene.

The grim discovery of the body of James Bowman, 44, was made by a passing hill walker in Cornholme, Todmorden, on Sunday.

Police say he had been subjected to a "vicious and sustained attack."

Four people, a 44-year-old woman and 21-year-old man from the local area and two 23-year-old men, are currently being quizzed by detectives.

Police say they want to trace a witness described as a white woman, possibly with black bushy hair with a black labrador seen walking in the Friedhurst Road area between 8.30am and 9.30am on Sunday.

Det Supt Allan Doherty said: "A 44-year-old man was found dead by a passing hill walker at 12.41pm on Sunday. He is James Bowman and we are able to identify him from documents he had on him at the time.

"It is believed he had lain there for a number of hours. He was found fully clothed close to a rock formation known as Black Wood with multiple injuries. Had had been the victim of a vicious and sustained attack involving more than one weapon and there was possibly one more assailant involved.

"We know very little about him, there's a suggestion that he may have introduced himself to other people by the name of Stig. We believe him to have only been in the Todmorden area a few weeks and we are appealing for information about his movements during this time. He has no particular family connections in the area."

Police said they had no photograph of Mr Bowman but that he had a fairly distinctive appearance. He is 5ft 6ins tall with a medium build and has shoulder-length brown hair that might have been worn tied back. He had a blackened front tooth and a number of missing teeth and was found wearing a blue jacket, maroon shirt and grey trousers and blue and green trainer-style walking boots.

A walking stick was also found at the murder scene.

DS Allan went on: "We believe that he had lived in the Workington area of Cumbria but was born in Liverpool and has relatives in the Workington area."

He added: "We do know that he stopped at a Todmorden hostel, people staying there may remember him. He has also stopped at hostels in the past in the Leeds area.

"One witness reported hearing raised voices at around 8am on Sunday morning, this may or may not be linked to Mr Bowman's death. There are now four people in custody."

A house in Ernest Street, Todmorden, was being examined for forensic evidence today. Anyone with information should contact police on 01422 337059.