Body found in Stockport garden after woman claims she killed man

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Officers searching a house on Matlock Road in Reddish, nearStockport, have discovered human remains, which are believed to be those of a man, Greater Manchester Police said.

The force said a 63-year-old woman told officers on Sunday a man she killed "a number of years ago" was buried there - she has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

Detective Inspector Dan Clegg of GMP's major incident team, said following a search of the garden, officers discovered remains which were later confirmed to be human by a forensic pathologist.

"The investigation is still in its early stages and many questions still need answers," he added.

"We will continue our work at the scene through the night and hope in the coming days we can piece together the exact circumstances surrounding the man's death.

"I would like to thank the community for their support as we continue to carry out our enquiries and we would like to reassure them that this is being treated incredibly seriously and we will do all that we can to find out what happened."

The force said the woman made the claim at Cheadle Heath Police Station, the man is yet to be formally identified, and a Home Office post-mortem is due to take place in the next 24 hours.

Door-to-door inquiries have been conducted on Matlock Road, with residents being asked if they know a man called Kenneth Coombes.

The questionnaire suggests Mr Coombes was in his late 80s in 2005.

GMP said that the man's family, who are being supported by specially trained officers, have been informed.