A BODY has been found on a building site in one of Hampshire most exclusive villages.

A police investigation has been launched into the incident on the site in Chilworth on the edge of Southampton.

Emergency services cordoned off the site following the death which has left residents in the village, where houses can cost more than £2 million, in shock.

According to residents, he had been working at a house in Ling Dale, which was undergoing extensive building work.

Police investigating the death yesterday have arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of corporate manslaughter.

The suspect remained in police custody last night.

One neighbour reported that the property where the body was found is currently unoccupied and labourers have been there since last week.

A tradesman working at a neighbouring property said: “I have been here since yesterday morning.

“I could hear work going on and then it was silent. An ambulance came down at 9am with sirens blazing then minutes later four police cars arrived. They were here all day.

“The building site has been a hive of activity, there was a group of around six workers this morning. Yesterday they were banging about all day.”

A Ling Dale resident, who did not want named, said: “I got back home at lunchtime and saw there were loads of police in the area.

“They came round and asked if I had seen anything.

“There has been building work going on there for the last year.”

A police spokesperson said: “We are investigating following the discovery of a man’s body at a building site in Ling Dale, Chilworth.

“Police were called to the scene at 9.33am on 16 July. Enquiries are ongoing and officers have been liaising with the Health and Safety Executive.

“A 49-year-old man from Southampton has been arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter.”

Corporate manslaughter is a criminal offence in English law, being an alleged act of homicide committed by a company or organisation.