A MAN found shot through the head in the boot of a burned out car has been identified.

Stacey John Lloyd, 31, of Ripon Close in Whitefield was found in a car close to a bridge over the M66 on Griffe Lane in Unsworth on Sunday.

Mr Lloyd's partner, Kimberley Kirkham, told Greater Manchester Police he was "much loved and will be sadly missed".

Police are appealing for anyone who knows anything about the murder to contact them.

Ms Kirkham told police: "He has left behind a five-year-old daughter and an unborn son, who will both miss him very much.

"Stacey's death has left everyone devastated. This is a desperately sad time for us."

Pathologists carried out a post-mortem examination but it did not establish whether or not the victim was dead when the car was set alight.

Firefighters made the discovery on Sunday night when they were called to deal with the burning car near a motorway bridge in Griffe Lane, Unsworth.

The death is being treated as a murder and a police incident room has been set up in Castle Road, Unsworth.