Garage staff spoke of their shock after the charred remains of a body was found in the back of a van belonging to one of their customers.

The victim – believed to be male – was discovered by firefighters called to tackle the blaze at RS Autos on Heckmondwike Road in Dewsbury.

Yesterday a police spokesman said that the death in the early hours of Saturday morning was being treated as “unexplained.”

But some locals believed that the man had climbed into the vehicle after asking for somewhere to sleep.

Police descended on the busy stretch of road at 5.50am after being contacted by crew from Dewsbury Fire Station who had been battling a fire there.

When the fire was extinguished firefighters found a body within the rear of the blue Vauxhall Movano panel van.

Officers closed the road between Low Road and Church Street as they worked with fire investigators to examine the scene.

Bradford-based Sakib Hussain, who owns the MOT and service centre, said that police called him about the fire.

“They said that there was a burned out van on the premises,” he said. “They were already here when I got here and had blocked all the road off.

“I was shocked when I found that there was a body. It was a customer’s van that had been left here overnight for repairs.”

Mr Hussain’s brother, Raees Chaudhry, also works at the garage and said the road was closed off for around seven hours..

He said that a private ambulance took the body and a tow truck removed the shell of the van.

Mr Chaudhry said that police asked to see CCTV footage from the premises, which he says showed a man getting into the van.

He said that he was told that the man appeared to be homeless and had knocked on a few doors before wandering over to the business.

Mr Chaudhry, 28, said: “He’s walked around the back and then to the van which was parked at the front.

“The van’s doors didn’t lock as there was a problem with them. Police said that he got in and they could see him moving about before the fire a few minutes later.”

Mr Chaudhry said that he had to use his mobile to take customer calls after the telephone wire was burned out by the blaze.

He said: “We’ve been here for a year and a half and what happened is a shock.

“We work to look after our customers and offer a good service and we’ve never had any trouble.”

The owner of the wrecked van, said to have been awaiting engine repairs, is believed to have been informed by police.

Haroon Ali, 21, who lives opposite the business, said his parents had heard some shouting outside shortly before police were called.

He said he had watched the tragic scene unfold from his bedroom window and saw the victim’s body being removed.

Mr Ali added: “The fire was too early for me to see but I did look out at 6.30am to see a lot of police cars. They wouldn’t let me onto the road as it was all cordoned off.

“I heard that the man had been knocking on people’s doors looking for somewhere to sleep.”

A police spokesman said the gender of the deceased could not even be confirmed until a post mortem examination is carried out.

He added: “At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained and police are working with fire investigators to determine the circumstances leading to the fire.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dewsbury CID via 101.