Paperwork found in carrier bags around his partly decomposed body at Withens Clough Reservoir, Cragg Vale, revealed he was a Russian man who had been living in Germany. He was applying for citizenship in Canada.

There were no clues why he was in Calderdale and a post-mortem examination failed to prove how he died.

Detectives are now making inquiries in Germany, Canada and Russia to discover more about the man.

"We have absolutely no idea why he was in this area," said Detective Inspector Ashley Hewitt, of Calderdale CID.

"We believe he still has family in Germany but we have been unable to speak to them at this stage."

Detective Inspector Hewitt said they could not release the man's name because his body had not been formally identified.

"But we believe he is the man mentioned in the documentation surrounding him", he said.

"We think he was a freelance photographer who may have been looking for work in this country.

"Although he had no camera with him, he did have a curriculum vitae, which included information about the photographic work he had done."

It will be at least six weeks before police are able to establish how the man, in his 50s, died.

A post-mortem examination held yesterday at Calderdale Royal Hospital proved inconclusive. Samples have been sent off for analysis and it is hoped they will shed some light on the cause of his death. The results are due back in six weeks.

"He appears to have been in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship. It had been ongoing since 2003," said Det Insp Hewitt.

"He had lived in Germany for eight years and we think he was using that as a base and travelling around Europe for work. Although he was originally from Russia, he had a German passport with him."

The man's body was found under a green umbrella among trees close to the reservoir on Tuesday by four-year-old Harvey Baker and his cousin, Dale Hardman, 18, both of Littleborough.

They had been spending the day with grandparents Peter and Christine Butterworth, who live next to the reservoir. Harvey and Dale had gone for a walk and Harvey spotted the body while playing in the woodland.

shelley.borders@halifaxcourier.co.uk