Port Elizabeth - Police in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape have opened an inquest docket after the body of a 48-year-old man was found mauled, reportedly with multiple dog bites.

Police spokesperson, Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg, said the body of Melvin Stuurman was found lying in Armstrong Street in Malabar on Friday morning.

Janse Van Rensburg said on arrival of the scene, police noticed that Stuurman had multiple bite wounds to his face.

She said at this stage, the exact circumstances surrounding the attack and his subsequent death are unclear.

Janse Van Rensburg said while police were still processing the crime scene, they followed up on information of a woman washing dogs in Malabar, not far from the crime scene.