A MAN whose body was found in a flat above a city pub was about to start a degree course at Nottingham Trent University.

Matthew Pyke was discovered by police in the flat above the Orange Tree pub in North Sherwood Street in Nottingham city centre on Friday evening.

Detectives began a murder inquiry after a post mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary revealed the 20-year-old from Stowmarket in Suffolk, who was the occupant of the flat, had died of stab wounds.

Speaking last night, a spokeswoman for Nottingham Trent University told the Post: "He (Matthew) had enrolled to start a degree course at the university but he had not started. He would have started in October."

She was not able to say what course Matthew had enrolled on.

Police forensic officers continued to examine the scene yesterday while two uniformed officers stood guard. A police car was parked inside a cordon which stretched from the junction of Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street up to the Nottingham Mechanics' Institute.

Officers had initially been called to the scene just after 6pm on Friday by the ambulance service.

A police spokesman said: "On their arrival, they found the man already dead in the flat."

However the body is not thought to have been removed from the flat until Saturday afternoon.

Ben Hings, managing director of The Orange Tree Group, which runs The Orange Tree pub, said: "It's obviously shocking to hear about an incident like this happening nearby.

"The Orange Tree owns the building, but the flats above are on a 999-year lease to someone else. They have a completely separate entrance to the pub and are self-contained."

One man, who asked not to be named, said he saw two forensic officers taking the body from a flat above the Orange Tree pub.

The 74-year-old said: "I saw them bring a body down and the whole area was cordoned off. I was in the canteen [at The Nottingham Mechanics' Institute] when one of the lads saw it and shouted over. I saw two guys bringing the body down the outside of the building in a bag. I was just shocked to see it all."

Police believe the offender or offenders would have been heavily blood stained when they left the property.

Anyone who saw someone in stained clothing or acting suspiciously in or around North Sherwood Street on Friday, September 19 should call Notts Police on 0115 9670999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

guy.woodford@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk