A man’s body has been reportedly discovered by a child in the grounds of a school.
West Midlands Police has launched an investigation after the body was found at Smestow Academy in Wolverhampton on Monday morning.
An 11-year-old girl was left “really shaken up” after making the discovery at about 10.40am when she went out for a PE lesson.
The father of the girl said: “My daughter phoned her mum up, screaming, and told her that she found a dead body by the goal posts on the field.
“She’s only 11 years of age. They went out for PE and it was very foggy this morning.
“It’s left her really shaken up and we’ve come to take her out of school early. It’s terrible what she’s had to see.”
It is understood that her year seven class was the first to have the subject this week.
Pupils were sent home and the school was closed as inquiries began at the scene in the Castlecroft area of the city.
Police said they were working to confirm the man’s identity and the circumstances around his death.
Pupils at Smestow Academy were sent home after the body was discovered – Anita Maric/SWNS
A spokesman for the force said: “We’re currently at Smestow Academy after a discovery of the body in the grounds.
“Emergency services were called at around 10.40am today, and the man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
“Inquiries are now under way to confirm the man’s identity and the circumstances around his death.
“The school is closing to pupils as inquiries get under way.”
The school, which has pupils aged 11 to 18, said in a notice on its website that it had closed because of an “unconnected police incident”.
It added: “As reported on Wolverhampton Police’s Facebook page, a body was found at the edge of the grounds.”
The notice said the school would open as usual on Tuesday with pupil assemblies held throughout the morning “to reassure them”.
One passer-by, who did not wish to be named, said she stumbled across the scene on Monday morning while walking at a nature reserve near the school.
She said: “We were walking slowly and we noticed something happening at the school. One of the teachers radioed, they said: ‘Major incident, member of the public found.’
“I asked if he was all right and they said they were unsure. Another teacher came to see if he was alive. It was quite clear that he wasn’t.
She added: “It was right at the bottom of the field, and the teacher wouldn’t be there unless some kids had found him and let him know.
“It’s likely that the kids found him and then told a teacher. You can’t get to the school field where I walked; you have to go through the school gates. It would’ve been all locked up.”