Alex Banda, 28, from Poole has been charged with murder and assault following the discovery of a man’s body in Bournemouth. He is due to appear at Poole Magistrates Court today 19 December.

A 39-year-old Bournemouth man who was arrested in connection with the incident has been released without charge and will face no further police action.

A 34-year-old woman from Wareham who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on police bail.

Dorset Police received a report at 10.08am on Saturday 17 December that a man in his 40s had been found unresponsive at an address in Frances Road. Officers attended, along with the ambulance service and very sadly the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

His family has been informed and are being kept updated by members of the investigation team. HM Coroner has also been notified.

It was reported that the man had been the subject of an assault at the address at around 10pm on Friday 16 December.

Detectives from Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) are conducting enquiries into the death.

Detective Inspector Neil Third, of MCIT, said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the man who sadly died, and they are being kept fully updated with the progress of our fast-moving investigation.

“We are continuing to carry out a number of enquiries and I would ask anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the area of Frances Road during the evening of Friday 16 December or early hours of Saturday 17 December, or who has any further information that might assist our investigation, to please contact us.

“Our enquiries to date indicate the victim and those arrested were known to each other.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55220202679. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.