Police in Coventry have launched a murder investigation after a pensioner discovered a badly decomposed body at the bottom of her garden.

The body, which was found in Marlborough Road in the Stoke area of the city, was that of a man who was understood to have been stabbed to death.

It could have lain undiscovered for weeks before being found on Sunday morning.

He was discovered next to an outbuilding when the pensioner, who is in her 60s, was reported to be outside gardening.

She raised the alarm and police quickly sealed off the house and were still carrying out forensic tests on Monday. Officers are trying to establish the age, colour and identity of the victim but confirmed the man had been murdered.

Det Chief Insp Adrian Atherley, who is leading the inquiry, said: "We are trying to establish the identity of the man and are carrying out house to house inquiries and forensic examinations at the scene."

Neighbours said they were shocked by the discovery. Mary Woodroffe, aged 66, said the woman who found the corpse had phoned her to tell her what had happened.

She said: "Apparently the body was lying in undergrowth between the garage and the fence, where the family don't often go.

"At first, my friend thought it was a guy that had been thrown over the fence and it was only when she got closer that she realised it was a body.

"I am just so shocked and it's terrible to think that nobody appears to have reported this person missing."