WHISPERS and gossip surround the discovery of a man's body in a lane near Steam Mills, Cinderford, on Sunday evening.
Police say they are treating the death of Shaun James, 32, of Fairfields, off Hastings Road, Cinderford, as "unexplained." Police have taped off the lane where the body was discovered.
Mr James was found by a member of the public at around 7pm on Sunday evening. Ambulance service paramedics attempted to save him but it is understood he died at the scene.
The results of a post mortem examination held on Monday evening revealed he died as a result of multiple injuries.
A police spokesman said the town was "alive" with rumour and speculation about the circumstances surrounding the death.
She said it was not a murder investigation but the death was being treated as unexplained and all options were being kept open.
It is understood Mr James had visited the Bilson Inn earlier in the day.
"We are aware of the rumours surrounding this incident. But we need people to be prepared to come forward and make statements about what they know," she said.
Det Chief Insp Neil Kelly, who is leading the investigation, said: "Clearly one person and possibly more knows what happened. A witness saw Mr James in the road outside the Bilson Inn where he had been drinking shortly before 7pm.
"There are lots of rumours circulating round the town but we need people to come forward with factual information and provide us with statements and tell us what they know."
Mr James was seen by a car driver who was being followed by other vehicles. "They must have seen something," said a spokesman.
Police were said to be initially treating the incident as a tragic hit- and-run. But among the rumours being investigated there was a suggestion that the victim had been knocked down elsewhere and subsequently taken to Steam Mills.
Anyone with information is being urged to contact the police on 0845 090 1234 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.