POLICE have urgently appealed for information that could help to identify the body of man who was found in the Kennet & Avon Canal near the Caen Hill locks flight on Saturday morning.

The man's body was pulled from the canal close to Marsh Lane near Rowde after being discovered by a passer-by just before 9am.

The emergency services were called out, and police cordoned off the scene while they conducted an investigation. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was also called out.

In a statement, a Wiltshire Police spokesman said: "We were called shortly before 9am after the body was found by a member of the public close to the Caen Hill lock, with the death being treated as unexplained.

"We are appealing to the public to help identify the man so we can inform his next of kin. He is described as a white man, aged between 60 and 70 years old, of slim build, approximately 5 foot 8 inches tall.

"He has a medium length, full white beard, with receding white hair with dark strands running through it.

"He was wearing rectangular rimmed glasses, with black arms, one of which had black colour tape around it.

"He was wearing a navy-blue Spray Way waterproof coat, black trousers with holes in them and black, lace-up shoes.

"We are also appealing for anyone who may have seen this man on the morning of his body being discovered or the evening before and ask that anyone in the local area check their CCTV or doorbell cameras to understand his whereabouts in the lead up to his death.

"Anyone who can help is asked to call 101 as a matter of urgency, quoting reference number 54210105897.

"Please can we remind people not to speculate in the comment section and if you do know who this person might be, please don’t name them in the comments and call 101 immediately."