Officers were called to Kingsgate Place, Kilburn, north west London, after a member of the public found the headless adult man wrapped in blankets in a supermarket storage cage near rubbish bins.

The body was wrapped in blankets or a duvet and secured with duct tape, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said. Police are still searching for the head, and a weapon.

The body is still at the crime scene and forensic investigators are examining the contents of the rubbish bins and the immediate area.

Local resident Homayon Mahgerefteh, 50, said there had been several killings in the area in recent years.

"This is, I think, the fifth person killed in this area in the last four years," he said.

"It's not a safe area. A boy was killed on a balcony quite nearby recently. They should put up security cameras so that they can catch people like this."

Noreen Morris, 67, said the area was becoming increasingly dangerous.

"There are a lot of young people with pit bull dogs dealing drugs. You feel very unsafe," she said.

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Kingsgate Place itself is usually quite quiet and most problems seem to stem from nearby estates, but the problem is the lack of decent CCTV. People know the street doesn't have any so it becomes an attractive place to people like drug dealers."