Upminster mixer death victim Lee Balkwell's body reinterred

Police set up a white tent around the grave as they exhumed Lee Balkwell

The body of a man exhumed as part of an investigation into his death 10 years ago has been reinterred.

Lee Balkwell, 33, was found dead in a concrete mixer near Upminster, in 2002.

Essex Police initially said the death was the result of an industrial accident but an inquest found he was unlawfully killed.

The body of Mr Balkwell was exhumed from Upminster Cemetery on Monday evening so a post-mortem examination could be carried out.

Mr Balkwell's father called the exhumation a "necessary evil".

A senior officer said the process had been carried out with "care and respect".

Lee Balkwell, 33, died in July 2002 at an Essex farm after suffering multiple injuries

He was returned to his grave at 07:00 GMT.

Det Insp Janine Farrell, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "We will now await the full post-mortem report and will then be assessing the results to see how they can help inform the next steps in our investigation.

"Our enquiries are continuing and we remain open to all hypotheses regarding Lee's death.

"If anyone has any information regarding the death of Lee Balkwell, no matter how trivial they consider it, even after all this time, they should contact my team."

Last November, five people were arrested in connection with a new investigation into his death.

They remain on police bail.