The Gazette can reveal that a body has been found in a lay-by just outside Ventnor on the Island.

A number of Police vehicles are at the scene and a cordon has been thrown up around the lay-by named locally as the Viewpoint in Leeson Road.

Salesperson Diana Gray, 43, from Ventnor, who was on a number three bus from Ryde, said ” It all looked very dramatic. There were police on both side of the road.

“There was a person covered over by a white sheet. My daughter could see feet poking out of the end of it. There was an ambulance and the three police vehicles. A policeman was helping an elderly lady who had a dog with her.”

A homeowner who lives opposite the scene said that Police turned up just after 9pm this evening. “I noticed the blue flashing lights,” he said.

A spokesman for Hampshire and IW Police said “Police can confirm they were called to the Leeson Road area of Ventnor, Isle of Wight at approximately 8.50pm last night (Sunday, November 14, 2010).

The body of a man believed to be aged in his 80s had been found by a member of the public. He was later pronounced dead. The Next-of-kin were informed and the death is not being treated as suspicious. A post-mortem examination and formal identification of the body will take place in due course.

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