A a mile away from Gatwick Airport. The white BMW had reportedly been parked on the Crawley industrial estate since October before cops found the on Friday. Ticket inspectors had believed to have been in the vicinity of the vehicle, slapping it with a ticket, but failed to notice the body inside.

Locals said they contacted Crawley Borough Council on multiple occasions to report the parking violation. On Friday, were seen at the estate on Whittle Way in Northgate, which is around a mile from the major international airport.

The local council's warning notice, which was issued on May 19, detailed how the car was "untaxed" and threatened it would be towed unless moved in a week. However, checking the government's vehicle tax site, it is actually taxed until January 1 next year. It also has a valid MOT until November 25.

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The alarm was raised on Friday when a recovery driver, who turned up to tow the car, contacted the police about a possible body inside. It's still unclear how long the remains had been sitting in the vehicle, but locals claimed the dust-covered vehicle had been there since October.

said the death was not being treated as suspicious, adding that the identity has not yet been established.

In a local group, one person said: “I reported it about four months ago but the council only put stickers on it - but it has been there for eight months now.”

Another added: “Been there since before .”

One local resident explained what the recovery driver saw when he arrived.

He allegedly "saw a man on the back seats, with a blanket over the front two seats to build a ‘barrier’ across as he was lying on the backseat - most likely was sleeping in the back”.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "Police were called to Whittle Way in Northgate, Crawley, at around 10.30am on Friday, 6 June, to reports of a body found in a vehicle.

"Enquiries are ongoing to identify the individual and establish the full circumstances of the situation."