DETECTIVES investigating the discovery of a man's body near Chorley have tracked down a missing man who could be vital to the inquiry.

An anonymous caller contacted the Crimestoppers confidential hotline on Tuesday, January 14 and passed on vital information about an individual he called 'Sunny' with regards to the discovery of human bones found in a pond at Charnock Richard last summer.

Extensive police inquiries since the phone call revealed a number of significant potential leads and yesterday, the Warrington-based man contacted police after repeated media coverage.

Detective Superintendent Nick Turner, in charge of the operation, said: "From what the anonymous caller told the Crimestoppers, we have been able to piece together quite a lot of information."

Police inquiries have revealed that the mystery man is a Hindu from Punjab who came to Wolverhampton in about 1991. Previously, he is thought to have been in Germany where he sought political asylum in 1986.

In the UK, he is believed to have got a job in construction and worked on the M62 motorway around 1991, living with other workers in a flat in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester.

He was also believed to be living in the Park Village area of Wolverhampton, where he was known to be a skilled chef, possibly working in the food industry.

He was known as 'Sunny' in many businesses on Cannock Road but also used names such as Meva Ram, Mawa Ram, Sawa Ram or Sawa Singh.

He hasn't been seen since 1993.

Det Supt Turner continued: "We are still trying to establish who Sunny is and the investigation is on-going."

Ashok Chudasama, secretary of Blackburn Hindu Society, said: "We are talking about Hindu Punjabis and there are four or five such families I know of in the area. I am not aware of any community members missing from this area or even any members who have lost touch.

"It is an important time for communities to look at whether or not they have any missing members."

Anyone with information should contact the incident room in Chorley on 01257 246271.