Police were today appealling for witnesses to solve the mystery of a body found on the A12.

Keely Scanlon, 17, and her friend Ed Olding, 21, spotted the body, believed to be a woman's, on the southbound carriageway of the busy trunk toad near Capel St Mary.

A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out today, while special scenes of crime officers have spent the last two days scouring the surrounding area for clues.

A car was also recovered from a layby at the scene, which officers took away to examine for evidence.

Keely, of Langham Lane, Boxted, said she was horrified at the discovery and angered when motorists refused to stop.

She said: "I was driving my friend back from Ipswich when I saw something in the road. It was awful."

She added: "Everybody kept driving on.

"Ed was in the road trying to stop the traffic and no-one was pulling over. I'm disgusted.

"They could see two young people in need of help and they just drove on because they didn't want to get involved.

"We could have risked our lives trying to move the cars out of the way."

Her mum Angela Scanlon said: "I am proud of her, it's unbelievable she has such a big heart.

"You don't want your 17-year-old daughter to see anything like that, but she and her friend tried to stop any more traffic from hitting the body, which must have taken some guts."

The Colchester-bound carriageway was closed between the Copdock and East Bergholt junctions until about 5am yesterday.

Police are appealing for anyone who was in the Capel area before 9.45pm on Monday, particularly people who may have been travelling home to Essex, or who has any information about this incident, to call Suffolk Police on 01473 613500.