POLICE are seeking to identify a body discovered in the grounds of Ellesmere College.


It was discovered on Sunday afternoon and the police have said it is not thought to be linked to the college.
 

A West Mercia Police spokesperson confirmed that they do not believe anyone else is involved and said: “The body found in a remote part of the grounds close to a pond and appears to have been there for a considerable time.
“We are in the process of establishing the identity and are treating it as an unexplained death. However, at this stage, we do not believe anyone else is involved.
“We are investigating the possibility that it may be linked to a long-term missing person report.”
 

Concerns are growing that the discovery could be that of missing Ellesmere man, Michael Ashton, who vanished from his home in early July.
 

Sniffer dogs and a police helicopter have all been deployed in the search for Mr Ashton while a police diving team used sonar equipment to scan Ellesmere's Mere in October as part of efforts to find the pensioner who is known to have gone missing before.


PC Paul Crump described the 81-year-old's behaviour as being “increasingly erratic” in the weeks prior to his disappearance.