THE body of a man was discovered by police at a house.

Officers were called to Hartington Street, Brierfield, around 3.20pm on Saturday to reports of a sudden death.

Emergency services discovered a body, believed to be that of a man aged in his 30s. His death is being treated as non-suspicious.

Police said they also found containers of a potentially hazardous material, and remain at the scene recovering this with help from fire crews.

Det Insp Iain Czapowski said: “We attended the address and sadly found the body of a man.

“On attendance at the address we also found a potentially hazardous material, however this is contained and is not believed to pose any danger to the public.

“A cordon is in place around the address as a precaution and the material is being removed by specialist officers.

“We appreciate that this will be concerning for the community so officers from the neighbourhood policing team will be in the area and anybody with concerns is welcome to speak to them.

“The man’s next of kin have been made aware and the coroner’s office has been notified.

“A joint investigation with the fire service is now underway to establish the exact circumstances and the findings will be passed to the coroner in due course.”