Two arrested after charred body found

A man whose body was found burnt beyond recognition may have been killed in a nearby drinking den, it emerged last night.

Police believe he was murdered at a flat in Limavady, Co Derry, before being bundled into a wheelie bin which was set alight.

Two men were later arrested after the charred remains were discovered at a derelict cattle market close to the town’s Masonic Hall.

Months earlier another man’s body was set alight just yards away, and the incoming mayor, Jack Rankin, told how people were shocked and outraged.

“It’s horrific, everyone is stunned that we have a repetition. “What is the mentality of anybody who can go to this extreme?”

The victim had been so severely torched that police were unable to confirm whether it was a man or a woman until a pathologist carried out checks.

A post-mortem examination disclosed he was an adult of around 5ft 6ins tall.

No details of the cause of death were available, and the victim’s identity remained unknown.

Police have urged anyone with a missing relative or friend to contact them.

Chief Inspector George Brien confirmed the killing happened before the body was taken to waste ground and set alight yesterday.

He said: “We believe the body may have been transported there in a wheelie bin and inquiries would indicate it was murdered elsewhere.”

Informed sources in the town revealed detectives were examining a flat close to the Masonic Hall.

“This place is a real drinking den for groups of people in the town,” one said. “The thinking is that’s where the murder happened before the body was transported.”

Meanwhile, dissident republicans used a homemade bomb weighing up to 50lb to attack a golf club in Lurgan, Co Armagh.

Windows and drain pipes were shattered in the blast, but nobody was hurt.