A MAN was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found unresponsive in a garden pond at a house in Tuckton.

Police were called to the semi-detached property in Northey Road on Friday night and discovered the body of a 56-year-old woman.

A 68-year-old man, understood to have been known to the woman, was arrested by officers. He has since been released under investigation.

A post mortem examination to establish cause of death was carried out on Sunday.

The preliminary result of the post mortem revealed the woman died as a result of drowning.

Police were called to the house around 10.30pm on Friday following reports of a woman who was found to be “unresponsive.”

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbours said her body was found in a pond at the property

On Sunday, Detective Inspector Richard Dixey, of Dorset Police, confirmed: “The death is being treated as suspicious and a 68-year-old Bournemouth man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently helping police with their enquiries.

“It is believed that the man and the woman were known to each other.”

Neighbours told the Daily Echo they were shocked when emergency services converged on the house.

“Things like this don’t really happen around here a lot,” said one. “It looked like there was an army of officers and ambulance people there, but no police have knocked on our door so we don’t really know what was going on.”

The house, which has a number of CCTV cameras attached to the outside and a pond in the back garden, was no longer cordoned off yesterday.

Residents said the woman and the man arrested live at separate houses in the same street.

Another neighbour recalled: “I saw a blue flash going up the road and then it felt like there were so many police cars and ambulances.

“Then in the morning there was a policeman on guard outside the house and it was all taped off - it stayed like that for some time. It is sad to hear what has happened, I knew the woman who lived there but not much about the man. He’s often seen out and about locally, walking down the road minding his own business.”

Anyone with information about the incident have been asked to call Dorset Police on 101, quoting incident number I26:580.