Police have launced a murder inquiry after a 44 year-old man was found dead in a Newcastle flat.

The body of the man was found with severe head injuries in a flat on Fifth Avenue in Heaton last night.

The body has not yet been officially identified but a post-mortem has been carried out and has found that the man died due to head injuries.

The man was the sole occupant of the house and was last seen on Saturday night. Police have no motive for the murder.

Police are conducting door to door inquiries and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

There will be more on this story as news comes in.