THE body of a man was found slumped next to a platform at Accri-ngton Railway Station during the morning rush-hour on Wednesday.

The man is believed to be in his fifties and Eastern European but had not been formally identified by police as the Observer went to press.

A call was made to the police shortly before 8.25am, reporting that the man’s body had been spotted on a footpath next to a platform.

The grim discovery was made by a member of the public.

Officers from Lancashire Police and British Transport Police were called to the scene which was cordoned off until 9.50am.

Paramedics arrived but were too late to save the man who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Transport police, who are dealing with the incident because it took place on the railway site, are now looking at CCTV footage to determine what happened.

The death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and has been recorded by the police as "unexplained".