Thirlmere’'s northern end, with the wooded slopes leading to The Benn. Photo: Simon James CC-BY-SA-2.0

A Lake District walker has discovered a decomposing body in woodland.

Members of Keswick Mountain Rescue Team were called to the scene, near Thirlmere, on Monday, to help police officers recover the unidentified body.

The discovery was made on The Benn, a 446m (1,463ft) wooded hill north-west of the reservoir, near Smaithwaite.

A spokesperson for the Keswick team said: “While walking in the area, a young man discovered a body which has obviously been lying there for some time.”

A spokesman for Cumbria Constabulary said: “We got a call at 11.45am on Monday 8 February from a male walker. He had found a badly decomposed body on a fellside near Thirlmere. The body was dressed in walking gear.

“We have got nothing at this stage to suggest the death was suspicious, but we can’t rule anything out, though there is nothing to suggest it is suspicious. We don’t yet know whether the body is male or female.”

A post-mortem examination will be carried out on the remains.

“The coroner David Roberts has been informed and police are now working to identify the body and determine the circumstances of the death.”