A man was being held by police on suspicion of murder today after a body was found dumped in a wheelie bin in Holloway.

The dead man, said to have been dressed in designer clothes, was discovered by a neighbour in the garden of a derelict townhouse behind a Waitrose supermarket.

Detectives are still trying to establish the identity of the victim, who had no documents or identifying details on him. There were no obvious signs of injury and a post-mortem examination failed to establish how he died.

The discovery was made at around 4pm on Saturday by a resident who went in search of the bin, which had gone missing from outside his flat in Tollington Road.

John Castagnetti, 74, whose neighbour found the body, said: “He couldn’t find his bin in the afternoon, so he went to look for it.

“When he found it he noticed there was something inside. He turned it on its side and two legs fell out. He was shaken up.”

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “Police told me the guy was wearing Versace shoes and had designer clothes on. They said he had a moustache and piercings.” Today, a house several doors down from where the body was found was being guarded by police as investigations continued.

Jackie Edwards, 61, who lives opposite, said she believed she may have seen a man pushing the wheelie bin down the road in the last week. She said: “I just thought, ‘That’s a bit unusual bringing it out after Tuesday.’”

Avis De Lacey, 77, said there was often noise and sounds of fighting coming from the property, which is understood to have housed a number of people.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said a 52-year-old man was being held at a north London police station after being arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday.

He added: “At this stage, the death is being treated as unexplained. Detectives are still working to establish the man’s identity.”

In separate incidents, at least three teenagers, including a boy of 14, were knifed in London over the weekend, though none of their injuries were said to be life-threatening.

The 14-year-old victim was attacked in North Countess Road in Walthamstow shortly after 4pm on Saturday.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed by an attacker on a moped in Canning Town at about 5pm yesterday, and an 18-year-old man was knifed in Shepherd’s Bush four hours later.