A BOLTON man found in a remote lay-by died from a head injury after being involved in a road traffic accident.

Mohammeed Asghar, aged 55, was discovered in the front passenger seat of a car parked on the A56 at Hapton, near Burnley.

A post mortem examination was carried out yesterday by a Home Office pathologist.

Detectives say Mr Ashgar was a passenger in a car which had travelled from Bolton to the Nelson area on Saturday evening.

At some point during the night, the Toyota Corolla was involved in a collision with the roundabout at the slip road off junction nine of the M65 westbound.

The vehicle then pulled into the lay-by and parked up for several hours.

Police say the driver claims he fell asleep and when he woke up on Sunday, he found Mr Ashgar dead. He tried to resuscitate him along with other motorists who had stopped to help.

However, when paramedics arrived at the scene at about 2.30pm, they pronounced Mr Asghar dead and called the police.

The driver, who is from Nelson, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and was released on police bail.

Det Insp Dermot Horrigan from Burnley Police said: "The cause of death was a head injury which we believe Mr Asghar sustained in the road traffic accident."

Police have appealed for anyone who saw the Toyota registration K520 XPB in the Bolton, Nelson or M65 area on Saturday night or Sunday morning to contact them.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det Insp Horrigan on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.