Ground-breaking technology is being used in a bid to unravel the mystery surrounding a charred and mutilated body found in a Harwich bunker.

It is the first major investigation in Essex - and possibly in the country - to go on the new Holmes 2 (Home Office Large Major Inquiry System) outside the forces which piloted the innovative scheme.

And detectives involved in the investigation - known as Operation Hardwick - hope the state-of-the-art technology will be a valuable tool in finding out the man's identity and how he died.

The body was reported to police on July 18 but it was later revealed that children had come across the remains at Beacon Hill Fort two days earlier but believed it was a dummy.

Despite extensive searches nationally and internationally, police have been unable to identify the victim but know he was aged between 16 and 20 and was possibly of Oriental origin.

He was also wearing a baseball cap, possibly with a Chicago Bulls logo on it.

His death is being treated as suspicious but a post mortem examination proved inconclusive.

Now all the data surrounding Operation Hardwick will be stored on the computer system and be subject to its charting and analysis tools.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said the system beats its predecessor as it can also be used to link investigations where there are known or suspected connections and to access information held on the Police National Computer.

Developed over the past two years, the new system will allow investigations in different parts of the country to be shared more easily, she added.

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