A DOG walker died after being found in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal close to a Burnley park.

Two joggers alerted police and paramedics after they spotted the unnamed man’s dog sitting on the canal bank at around 12.15pm yesterday.

The 64-year-old man was recovered from the water behind the Queen Victoria pub off Queen Victoria Road.

He was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital but was pronounced dead at around 1.40pm, police said.

Neighbours said more than half a dozen police cars, fire engines and a paramedic vehicle descended on the junction of Ormerod Road and Queen Victoria Road.

Around half a mile of the canal bank was sealed off while investigations took place.

Carol Keeney, of Ormerod Road, said: “The road was just covered in police cars and fire engines and they surrounded the canal.

“It took us a few hours before we were told that there had been a body found. It’s just really sad when something like this happens on your doorstep.”

A Lancashire Police spokesman said the dog was found sat on the footpath next to the canal and had since been taken in by Burnley Borough Council’s dog warden.

Police were making enquiries among staff at the Queen Victoria and guests at the nearby Premier Inn, to see if anyone witnessed the man’s fall.

Officers are also expected to release a description of the man as they attempt to trace his relatives. They are appealing for anybody who saw the incident to call them on 101 and were treating the death as unexplained last night.