A HEADLESS body has been discovered in the grounds of a Bristol mental hospital.

The body, of a man, was found yesterday at Callington Road Hospital in Brislington and the Evening Post understands the head was found nearby. Police and hospital authorities have been unable to confirm who the man was and whether or not he was a patient at the hospital. But police have said they are not treating the death as suspicious.

Officers were called to the hospital at about 11.30am. The Evening Post understands that the body was found by people working in the grounds.

It is believed the man may have been dead for a few months and as yet his identity has not been established.

Avon and Somerset Police spokesman Martin Dunscombe confirmed that the death was not being treated as suspicious. He said investigations at the scene had been made and officers had started inquiries to establish the circumstances around the death. But he would not comment further and no explanation was offered as to how the body came to be decapitated.

The Post understands that part of the investigation is to establish whether the dead man was a patient at Callington Road Hospital, which provides a range of inpatient mental health services including a psychiatric intensive care unit for men who have been sectioned, a specialist drug unit for detoxification and psychiatric care for men who cannot be treated or supported appropriately in their own homes.

A spokesman for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "The trust is fully supporting the police while they carry out their investigations."

He said he could not comment on whether any patients had gone missing from the hospital.