Police this evening have removed the tape which for the last three days has cordoned off a popular beauty spot since the discovery of a body there early on Sunday morning.

Tonight dog-walkers were once again ambling through Crisbrook Meadow and Hayle Park Nature Reserve in Tovil after officers finally departed, and teenagers were once again sitting around the millpond.

But the atmosphere was subdued and Maureen Williams, who lives close to the scene, was fighting back tears as she laid flowers at the site.

She said: "It's an absolutely terrible thing to have happened. We can only hope the young man had found some solace in our beautiful valley."

Police have yet to announce the identity of the victim, but locals believe it may have been a homeless Romanian man who for the last few weeks had been living in a tent behind bushes on Tovil Hill close to the busy B2010, the road that leads to the Tesco and Lidl supermarkets.

A man was seen dragging a tent into Crisbrook Meadow on Saturday morning, and the same tent was found not far from the body.

Steve Small of Cave Hill, said a stranger in a green anorak had been sitting by the millpond for most of Saturday, feeding the ducks.

He said: "He wasn't causing any trouble. In fact, he was smiling a lot and seemed quite happy.

"But it was unusual for someone to sit there that long and without any company."

There has been a heavy police presence in the area since 7.15 on Sunday when the body of a man in his 20s was discovered close to a public footpath by two dog walkers.

The land which lies in the Loose Valley Conservation Area is jointly owned by the Valley Conservation Society and Tovil Parish Council and the society had arranged a litter-pick to take place that morning, which had to be cancelled.

The group's regular Tuesday work party, with around 15 volunteers due to work in the valley, was also cancelled today on police instruction.

Officers were today still conducting a step-by-step search of the area.

Police have said they are treating the death as "suspicious", but more should be known tomorrow when the results of a post mortem examination are declared.