Body was 'dumped on golf course'

A young man whose a badly burnt body was found in undergrowth at a golf club was murdered elsewhere before being dumped, police said.

Players found the corpse between the 17th and 18th holes at Dyke Golf Club on the South Downs above Brighton just before noon on Saturday. Police are studying missing person reports in an attempt to identify the victim, who was in his late teens or early 20s and had distinctive tattoos, one of which was unfinished, on his shoulders.

Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles, of Sussex Police, said he believed the man was murdered, moved to the golf club and set alight. He rejected reports the victim was mutilated, saying the man's missing foot may have been eaten by an animal. A post-mortem examination was due last night.