Two arrested on suspicion of murder after alleged thief dies 'being restrained by public'

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder following reports a suspected thief died after being restrained by members of the public in Wigan. Police were called called to Nicol Mere Drive in Ashton-in-Makerfield following reports a man alleged to be stealing items from vehicles had been detained by members of the public.

When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive man believed to be in his 20s. He was taken to hospital but later died. Formal identification is yet to take place.

A 27-year-old man and a 24-year-old man have since been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody for questioning.

Describing the scene, one local resident told the Manchester Evening News: "I heard some noise in the night, but I didn't think much of it; it was quite noisy anyway because it was Bonfire Night.

"What a terrible thing to have happened. There are so many families with kids living here, it's not the sort of thing you expect to happen on your doorstep."

Detective Superintendent Joanne Rawlinson of GMP's Wigan borough said: "My thoughts are with the family of this man at this extremely difficult time.

"This investigation is currently in its very early stages and we are working hard to understand the exact circumstances that have led to this man's death.

"I would like to reassure the local community that we have a dedicated team of detectives working on this investigation and we are treating this as an isolated incident.

"If anyone has any information, no matter how trivial, I would urge you to contact us as it may prove vital to our investigation."

Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or 0161 856 5307 quoting reference number 233 of 06/11/17 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.