Video: Police at the scene on Garden City, Carlton.
People living close to the spot in Carlton where a body was found inside a burnt out vehicle described hearing a bang so loud it was “like a bomb” as the vehicle went up in flames in the early hours of the morning.
Firefighters were called to Garden City, Carlton, after the blaze woke neighbours at around 2am on Wednesday (October 17).
Fire crews discovered the body inside and alerted Notts Police, who taped off the area and began an investigation involving detectives and forensics specialists.
Police said the death remained ‘unexplained’ on Wednesday afternoon and enquiries are ongoing to identify the person involved.
Garden City is a cul-de-sac off Cavendish Road surrounded by houses and a block of flats. Police were focusing their investigation on a car park at the far end, where a vehicle surrounded by a forensics tent could be seen on Wednesday morning.
Forensics staff were also seen examining bins and the ground around the entrance to the car car park.
One person living nearby, who did not want to be named, said: “I heard a big bang at the time, that I thought was a bomb going off, then I saw all the fire engines and police cars.”
Former soldier Graham Mayall, who lives on Garden City, said: “I heard the noise at about two o’clock. Whatever kicked off kicked off then.
“It was a lot of noise, like things crashing and banging, it was just a noise you don’t hear at two o’clock in the morning, I was shocked this morning when I heard what had been found.”
The Notts Fire and Rescue Service fire investigation team is also on the scene and police could be seen signing residents in and out if they needed to cross an outer cordon at the Cavendish Road end of Garden City.
A woman living nearby, who asked only to be named as Bev, said: “It makes you feel frightened, it’s alright around here so this so out of character.
“They’ll be someone’s family. It makes you wonder what’s happened. There are kids living around here. It’s just not right.”
A Notts Police statement read: “We’re investigating an unexplained death in the Carlton area of Nottingham.
“We were contacted by our colleagues in the fire service just after 2am to reports of a vehicle fire in the Garden City area, in which a body was found inside.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish who the person is and how the incident happened.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Notts Police on 101, quoting incident number 37 of October 17, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
