A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found in a wooded area of the Bestival music festival site in Dorset.
Police officers at the popular festival were alerted shortly before 01:00 BST on Monday morning to reports of concern for the welfare of a 25-year-old woman from London who had attended the festival at Lulworth Castle. Following a search of a wooded area on the edge of the festival site, officers discovered the body of a woman.
Her family have been informed and the coroner has been notified.
An investigation is underway to establish the circumstances surrounding her death and a cordon is in place on site while forensic examinations are being carried out. A 28-year-old man from London has been arrested on suspicion of murder, to enable officers to conduct an interview under caution to help establish the full circumstances.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Derbyshire, of Dorset Police, said:
“Following the discovery of the woman’s body we have now launched an investigation into her death. We have specially-trained officers supporting her family at this very difficult time.
“Enquiries are now underway to establish how she died. A post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course and this should give us more of an indication as to the cause of her death.
“We are working closely with the festival organisers and I would appeal to anyone with any information about the incident to contact Dorset Police.”
In a statement, the festival organisers said:
“Following today’s news announcement, the team at Bestival are devastated to hear about this tragic news. We continue to support the police in their ongoing investigation and our thoughts and prayers are with all the woman’s family and friends.”
