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Circumstances of Antrim death unknown

Antrim - 23-year-old found dead
Antrim - 23-year-old found dead

The family of a workman found dead at a landfill site in Co Antrim say it is still not clear how he died.

David Leyland, 23, was last seen at the Biffa Waste site in Newtownabbey on Thursday afternoon.

The PSNI was alerted later that evening after he failed to clock off and a search operation was organised.

That search had to be called off in the early hours of Friday morning because conditions at the Biffa site were said to be hazardous.

It resumed yesterday morning at 9am, involving a police helicopter and a dogs unit.

Late last night a body was found.

A Health and Safety investigation into the circumstances of the death has been launched and a post mortem examination is expected to be carried out.

Some members of the Leyland family had been critical of the length of time it took for a search to get under way.

However a PSNI spokesperson yesterday said police had only been informed at 7.50pm on Thursday evening and immediately established a missing person's inquiry.

The 23 year old site manager, who had worked at the landfill since he was 17, had only recently got married.