Investigations are continuing today after a man's badly burned body was found in a field near Selby.

Emergency services swooped on a field just north of the town, after the man became engulfed in flames.

The scene was sealed off for several hours as police investigated, and officers today urged anyone with information to contact them.

Inspector Dave Sutcliffe of North Yorkshire Police said: "Police are not treating the death as suspicious and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

"The body has not been formally identified at this time, but it is believed to be that of a man from Selby."

The incident began at about 1.10pm on Saturday, in a field off Monk Lane, beside the B1223 Selby to Cawood Road. Firefighters and police were called and all surrounding roads sealed off until after 6pm. A police helicopter was deployed as officers swept the scene.

Farmer Jimmy Lund had to cross the police blockades to get to his property. He said police had told him only that a "major incident" was going on.

One local resident said: "I wondered what the police were doing. Nothing like that has ever happened here. At first, when I saw the helicopter I thought they may be searching for someone who was missing, but I heard later a body had been found." Another said: "Nobody has told us anything at all. We thought police might have asked if we had seen anything, but we had not."

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service declined to comment, referring all inquiries to the police.

One drinker in the nearby Unicorn pub, in Bondgate, Selby, said there had been a "little fire" in the field, but nobody there was able to say any more.

* Anyone with information about the circumstances leading up to the man's death, or with details of his identity should phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060247.