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The body of a homeless man who had been spray-painted with red paint has been found in a cemetery.

The man has been named locally as Michael Cash - a homeless man from the who was often seen sitting near the Tesco Express store in Normanby on the outskirts of Middlesbrough.

A video emerged earlier this week of Mr Cash, whose age is not known, having been sprayed with red paint near to the convenience store.

The eight-second clip, which has now been removed, was uploaded to Facebook where a man says “this is how we deal with the beggars on the street,” claiming “he’s not even a beggar”, reports Teesside Live .

Two women told them of their shock at the footage, saying: "I gave him a pound last week. Who would do that to someone? They could have blinded him."

Now it is believed he is dead with his body found on Wednesday.

The body has not been formally identified but a member of Mr Cash’s family confirmed they had been visited by detectives following the grim discovery.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

A JustGiving page has been set up to help his family provide for his funeral.

Vicki Gaffney wrote: “It’s so sad to hear about Michael Cash (the homeless man) who we have all been talking about on social media over the last few days.

“Many people mention how polite and grateful he was, and as a community it seems that a lot of us give him food and spare change whenever we seen him.

“So myself and Lou thought, what if we give him a few extra pound one last time to give him a decent send off and help the family lay him to rest? RIP MICHAEL CASH.”

(Image: Evening Gazette)

Flowers and cards have been left at the cemetery as well as at the spot where Mr Cash apparently used to sit.

Spray paint can still be seen on the wall.

People have taken to social media to pay tribute to him and express their sadness at the news.

One said: “So sad. What a life. RIP young man. What a cruel world we live in.”

Another wrote: “Such a polite young lad going through a hard time and now this. So sad. RIP.”

(Image: Evening Gazette) (Image: Evening Gazette)

Crime scene investigators could be seen in the bushes from the roadside and a police cordon was set up.

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to Eston Cemetery on Normanby Road shortly after 2.50pm on Wednesday.

“Sadly on arrival, the body of a man was found at the scene. The death is currently being treated as unexplained whilst enquires continue.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

“If anyone has further information please contact Cleveland Police via the 101 number quoting event 166668.”

Police said no arrests have been made in relation to the alleged spray-painting incident.