A man spotted running naked around city centre bars and restaurants is believed to have plunged to his death down a 50ft hole on a nearby building site.

Police launched an investigation after a man’s naked body was found at the bottom of a lift shaft at the One Smithfield Square site near the Northern Quarter yesterday afternoon.

Detectives believe he is the same man seen by revellers ‘looking lost’ and trying to get into Northern Quarter nightspots wearing nothing but socks and trainers on Friday night.

He was witnessed in the Thomas Street area by dozens of people at around 8.30pm.

One eye-witness saw the man enter Solita restaurant on Turner Street in what appeared to be a ‘confused state’ in front of a room full of diners.

She said: “He walked in at the back of the restaurant, which was pretty much full at the time and stood there for a short while. When members of staff started to approach him he got scared and went back out of the door.”

He is then believed to have made his way to the nearby Bluu bar before being turned away by bouncers.

A member of staff said: “He’d been seen in the general area around the bar although it wasn’t clear where he had come from and he didn’t seem to be with anyone.”

He was also pictured by Twitter users who said he appeared to be lost.

Police believe some time after being turned away from the bar the man managed to get onto the building site off Goadsby Street around 200 metres away.

The man was discovered by a construction worker on the site at around 1.15pm.

He was pronounced dead three hours later after medics and managed to gain access to the bottom of the shaft to examine the body.

Officers are now trying to identify the man and piece together the circumstances surrounding his death. A post-mortem is due to take place today.

The site, which is being developed into 77 apartments, is currently sealed off for forensic investigation.

In a statement police said: “This investigation is at a very early stage and more information will be released when it becomes available.”

For all the latest on Greater Manchester's news, sport, business and what's on - see manchestereveningnews.co.uk