A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a 45-year-old who had been camping in a park in Merseyside.

Peter Seeclear, from Toxteth, and another man had been fishing over several days at Stadt Moers Park in Whiston and had been staying in a tent.

On the afternoon of October 30, his companion ran to a nearby house and told the occupant that Mr Seeclear had suffered a seizure and needed an ambulance, police said.

“Mr Seeclear was pronounced dead at the scene and initial examination of the body by paramedics and officers found that there were no obvious injuries to suggest anything out of the ordinary,” said Detective Chief Inspector Richie Jones, of Merseyside Police.

“A digital autopsy was carried out in Preston at the request of the coroner and during that examination some internal injuries, not consistent with a non-suspicious death were identified and the examination was halted.

“On November 14 a Home Office post-mortem was carried out and the cause of death was identified as severe traumatic chest injuries.”

As a result of the finding, detectives launched a murder investigation. A 45-year-old man from Toxteth was detained and taken to a police station for questioning.

Officers are appealing for anyone with any information to get in touch.

“We are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who was in Stadt Moers Park, near to the fishing pond, who may have seen Peter Seeclear and the other man, near to their tent, to come forward,” said Mr Jones.

“Peter’s family are devastated by their loss and I would urge anyone who has information which could assist our investigation to come forward.”

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting reference 0789 of 30 October, or contact CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111.