A mum walking her child to school raised the alarm after seeing a man’s body hanging 20ft up a tree in Batley.
Police and other emergency services were called to a small area of parkland off Track Road, near the junction with Purlwell Lane.
Officers found the body of a man – believed to be aged about 20 and of Eastern European background – hanging from one of several large mature trees.
The trees are clearly visible from the main road and surrounding homes.
The body was reported at 8.35am today as parents and children made their way to the nearby Purlwell Infant and Nursery School in Purlwell Lane.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and the coroner had been informed.
The local community was left shocked at the discovery.
One man said: “It’s a terrible tragedy. The body was about 20ft up the tree. There was no ladder that I could see so the man must have climbed up. It was very high.”
Police sealed off the grassed parkland and spent most of the morning at the scene.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said officers were contacting next of kin and more details would be released later.
