Investigation underway after death of man in Colne
Thursday, January 30, 2025
An investigation is underway after the death of a man in Colne.
We were called at 7.12pm on Tuesday (28th January) to Oakfield Lodge, Birchenlee Lane, Colne, to a report of a sudden death.
Our officers attended and gained entry to a caravan where a man was found unresponsive.
Very sadly, the man – aged 52 – was pronounced dead at the scene.
He can be named as Stuart Burns who lived at the address.
Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this distressing time.
A Home Office postmortem examination has been carried out, but an exact cause of death has yet to be established. Further tests are being carried out to try and establish exactly how Mr Burns died, and this may take some time.
The postmortem examination did show Mr Burns had suffered a number of serious injuries sustained during a recent assault and while these injuries did not cause his death we are investigating the circumstances.
A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene initially on suspicion of murder but now on suspicion of Section 18 wounding. He remains in custody.
Det Insp Darren Irving, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “My thoughts first and foremost are with Mr Burns’ loved ones at this time.
“While Mr Burns' death is not being treated as a homicide, we do believe he has been the victim of an assault prior to his death where he suffered a number of injuries, and we are investigating the circumstances. I would appeal to anyone who has any information which could assist us in our enquiries to come forward and contact police.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log 1255 of 28th January 2025.
Alternatively, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
