A BODY discovered in the village of Ashley, near Altrincham, has been identified as that of 15-year-old schoolboy Alex Rodda.

Another teenager has been arrested on suspicion of his murder.

The body of the teen, who is from the Knutsford area of Cheshire, was discovered in Ashley Mill Lane shortly before 8am yesterday.

His family have been informed and are being supported by specialist police officers, Cheshire Police say.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Blackwell, of Cheshire Constabulary’s Major Crime Directorate, said: “Our thoughts are with Alex’s family at this extremely difficult time.

“They are currently being supported by specialist officers and we request for their privacy to be respected."

A murder investigation has been launched following the discovery of the teen's body and officers are working to establish the circumstances around his death.

An 18-year-old man, also from Knutsford, remains in custody for question after being arrested on suspicion of the schoolboy's murder.

Police are appealing for anyone with any information or CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.

DCI Blackwell said: “We are in the very early stages of our investigation into Alex’s death, which we are treating as a murder.

“I would like to reassure the community that this is believed to be an isolated incident and we are doing everything we can to establish exactly what has taken place.

“Various enquiries are ongoing and we are appealing for anyone with any information or footage that may be relevant to our investigation to get in touch.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101, quoting IML 587226, give the details via cheshire.police.uk, or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.