Woman's body found by Manchester canal as towpath 'taped off' by police

The body of a woman has been discovered by a canal in Manchester as members of the public are told to avoid the area.

Eyewitnesses said police as well as fire and rescue crews were spotted at the scene, at the Marple Aqueduct in Stockport. Greater Manchester Police have asked people to stay away as their investigation gets underway.

The death of the woman - not yet identified - is not being treated as suspicious at this time. The woman's body was found on the grass by the canal and officers are now working to establish the facts of what happened to her.

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The Romiley & Marple community first responders wrote on social media: "Please avoid the Aqueduct in Marple whilst we deal with an incident." The aqueduct, located between Marple and Romiley, carries the lower level of the Peak Forest Canal over the River Goyt.

An eyewitness told the Manchester Evening News that the canal towpath had been taped off by police. Photos from the scene show emergency crews working along the towpath with multiple emergency vehicles including an 'Enhanced Rescue Unit' on scene.

A white tent was also pictured at the scene, with a crime scene investigation vehicle on the scene. Forensics officers were also pictured working in the area. Manchester Evening News said a police officer was at the cordon and 'turning away runners and walkers'.

It comes just months after a body of a woman in her 50s was pulled from a canal leading to a police investigation. Emergency services rushed to the Lee Navigation in Homerton, ineast London, at around 11.40am on May 7, following reports of a body in the canal.

Met Police officers along with paramedics, fire crews and a marine unit all attended the scene in May where they discovered the body of a woman in her 50s, and she was recovered from the water. But tragically the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and a huge cordon remained in place yesterday as detectives start an investigation into who the woman was and what happened.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with her death. A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said that it sent paramedics, an ambulance, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager as well as members of a hazardous area response team.

They said at the time: “We were called at 11.57am today to reports of an incident at the junction of Homerton Road and Lee Conservancy Road, Hackney. We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, a clinical team manager, a paramedic in a fast response car and members of hazardous area response team (HART). Sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.”