The body of a woman was found on Sunday morning in Douglas.

The 73-year-old was discovered at 7am in Marathon Avenue.

A police spokesman said: ‘It is believed that she was struck by a vehicle that has then failed to stop and left the scene.’

Roads nearby were closed while police investigated the incident but have now been opened.

‘We are appealing for any witnesses to come forward who may have been in the vicinity of Marathon Avenue and the neighbouring streets in the early hours of this morning between 1am and 7.30am who may have seen any vehicles leaving that area,’ a spokesman said.

‘We are also appealing to the public to let us know about any vehicle in their neighbourhood, that has appeared overnight, to have sustained fresh damage to it which could indicate that it has been involved in a collision.

‘Finally we are appealing directly to the conscience of the driver of the vehicle involved in this incident, who would have known that they had collided with with the victim to do the right thing and come forward and present themselves at police headquarters, Douglas, without further delay.’

Anyone with any information that could help the police to provide answers to the victims family should contact police headquarters on 631212 or call IOM Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111