Man quizzed over dismembered body in wheelie bins

A tight-knit Belfast community was in shock tonight after the horrific discovery of a dismembered body.

It had been chopped up and stuffed into two wheelie bins outside a block of flats in the east of the city.

Detectives investigating the gruesome discovery said the body was that of a man in his 30s who came from the area – but his name had not been released.

A 42-year-old man was being questioned about the death and a ground floor flat in the apartment block, believed to be his, was put under detailed examination by police and forensic experts.

Police went to the apartment block in the Mount area – Pottinger House run by a housing association – on Monday evening after a tip-off.

They made the horrific discovery and soon afterwards made an arrest.

The courtyard remained sealed off all day and one resident said he saw officers removing a blood stained blanket from a bin.

Another, a pensioner who lives in the flats, added: “This gives me the shivers. I really can’t believe that something like this could happen.

“I don’t really know if I want to stay in this area for much longer if this type of thing is going to happen.”

Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers, a councillor in East Belfast, said the death was horrendous.

“This is deeply worrying. There has been a rise in serious crime, not just in Belfast but right across Northern Ireland and I’m very concerned about it,” he said.

East Belfast Democratic Unionist Assembly member Robin Newton said the discovery had created fear in the area.

He said: “This is a close-knit community around the Mount area and there would be a lot of concern that someone who was prepared to carry out such violence would be living in the community.”

Mr Newton said the only way people would begin to feel safe again was when the person or persons responsible were behind bars.

He added: “My understanding is that police were acting on information received from the public of suspicious circumstances. They followed it up and made the horrific find of the body.

“My understanding is the body was being prepared for removal from the scene.”