POLICE investigating a death at a New Forest takeaway have revealed that the victim died of head injuries.

Emergency services rushed to Brockenhurst and cordoned off the area outside the China Chef in Brookley Road – the main street in the village.

Police were called to reports of a man in need of medical assistance at the takeaway but he died at the scene.

As reported in the Daily Echo, a 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released pending further inquiries.

Last night a police spokesman said: “It is still being treated as murder with an ongoing investigation to establish the facts. The post-mortem examination has been completed and the cause of death is a head injury.

“The man has now been identified but his family are yet to be notified.”

Asked what caused the head injury he added: “That is part of the ongoing investigation.”

Brockenhurst councillor Maureen Holding added: “It was a terrific shock because no-one expected anything like that to happen here. We had never seen so many police in Brockenhurst.”

Cllr Holding, a former chairman of New Forest District Council, said the takeaway had been open for about ten years.

She added: “The people who run it are very nice to say ‘hello’ to but no-one in the village seems to know them. The reaction to what’s happened is total shock and great sadness.”

Witnesses said several police officers and paramedics ran inside a flat above the takeaway and the area outside the property was cordoned off.

A forensics team was seen searching bins at the back of the property.

A villager who works in Brookley Road but did not want to be named, described seeing a man with blood on him being led away by police and put into an ambulance.

She added: “This is a massive shock for Brockenhurst, which a small, quiet village.”

Sarah Fitzgerald, owner of Beyond the Skin Handbag in Brookley Road, said: “Residents heard shouts at around 6.30am on Monday.

“One of my staff members heard people shouting between 9am and 10am but we couldn’t hear any words.

“It sounded like an argument but it didn’t sound threatening. It was just someone having an argument – nobody felt alarmed until the police arrived.”

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: “Just after 1pm on Monday, August 20, officers were called to a man in need of medical assistance at an address on Brookley Road, Brockenhurst. The man died at the scene.

“A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently in police custody.”