Norfolk pig cruelty probe farmer Stephen Brown found dead Published duration 15 February 2012

image caption Mr Brown was found dead at his farm in Norfolk

A farmer being investigated over allegations of cruelty to pigs has been found dead.

The body of Stephen Brown, 52, was found at Harling Farm, near Thetford, Norfolk.

Secret filming showed pigs being kicked, slapped and beaten with iron bars, which the RSPCA said was "some of the most shocking" footage it had seen.

Police said Mr Brown's death, whose body was found at about 07:30 GMT, was not being treated as suspicious.

A Norfolk police spokeswoman said: "Police were called to a property at Eccles Road in East Harling... to reports of a sudden death.

"Officers attended and found the body of a 52-year-old man.

Footage 'dramatised'

"At this stage there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances to the death and an inquest will be held in due course."

Animal rights group Animal Equality sent an undercover investigator to work at the farm for two months last summer.

The organisation gathered more than 200 hours of footage and 300 photographs.

In an interview with BBC Look East on Monday, Mr Brown said: "It does look bad but the only thing I feel is that some of it has been dramatised."