A murder inquiry is under way after a fatally injured man was found in the back of van pulled over by police in Berkshire.
Witnesses said the victim had been badly beaten, wrapped in plastic and was barefoot. Police said he was "seriously injured" when he was discovered in the van on London Road, Sunningdale, where an officer at the scene said the man appeared to have been tortured.
Attempts were made to save his life but he is understood to have died shortly after being found.
Thames Valley police said four men were arrested on suspicion of murder.
Television pictures showed a green tarpaulin thrown over what appeared to be a body on the pavement beside a white van. Police officers and vehicles were positioned on the road, which was cordoned off.
Details surrounding the incident were sketchy, while speculation locally centred on two possibilities - a botched armed robbery or kidnapping. A number of eyewitnesses reported seeing two bodies but the confusion seemed to stem from one of the arrested men on the ground being mistaken for a victim.
Witnesses said the van was pulled over by police without a chase. Three men said to be in their 40s or 50s were told to lie on the ground. No shots were fired and there was no struggle, but a fourth man ran off before being caught, according to the witnesses. Onlookers said a sledgehammer was recovered from the van.
Marketing manager John McCann said his wife Samantha saw the incident unfold as she walked to a cafe nearby.
The Guardian
