A young woman's body remained at the scene where she died in Hanwell wrapped in a blanket nearly four hours after she died.

At this stage, police treating the death of the woman, believed to be in her 20s, as murder. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene in Uxbridge Road, near the junction with Half Acre Road.

Police were called to the scene on Thursday (July 19) by London Ambulance Service, who responded to a call at 12.06pm regarding a woman with serious injuries in Uxbridge Road.

The woman's body can easily be seen by passers-by

A London Ambulance Service Spokesperson said: "We sent an incident response officer, two single responders in cars and an ambulance crew.

"We also dispatched our hazardous area response team (HART) and London’s Air Ambulance by helicopter.

"Sadly, despite our extensive efforts, a person died at the scene.”

The young woman was declared dead at 12.50pm. A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said that the death was being treated as "unexplained at this early stage".

London Air Ambulance were also called to the scene in Hanwell

A body, wrapped in a blanket remained at the crime scene nearly four hours after the woman was declared dead.

While the pavement where she lies has been sealed off and is swarming with police, the busy Uxbridge Road still remains open to traffic. Senior Reporter Katy Clifton, who is at the scene, said “everyone is stopping and staring”.

"It’s so shocking, the victim is still there just under a blanket, right by the main road," said local resident Mitch Bracher.

"I’ve lived here for three years, this is the worst thing that’s happened here in that time," he told getwestlondon.

"I thought it would all be sealed off but people can just walk by it. It’s usually such a safe area, I’m not sure if it’s a domestic incident.”

The woman's body is wrapped in a blanket on the pavement

Hanwell Resident Liz Jenner told getwestlondon "that the whole community must be shocked to the core after hearing this very sad news",

"Hanwell has unfortunately seen a huge rise over the last year in crime and anti social behaviour affecting everyone," she added.

"This latest incident will maybe confirm to many now that matters are spiraling out of control".

The woman's next of kin have been informed and it is understood that her family has visited the scene.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene

An Uxbridge Road business owner, who asked not to be named, said the entire incident was "incredibly disturbing".

"You never think something like this would happen here," he said.

"And for it to happen just down the road is terrifying. I can’t believe that this can happen just next to a busy road during the day.”

A man, who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of the woman's murder, is being held in custody at a north London police station.

getwestlondon asked Metropolitan Police why there was no forensics tent in place until around 4.45pm, or why the road had not been closed to prevent the public from seeing the woman's body.

The spokeswoman responded that "a crime scene is being maintained at the scene" but could not offer any further explanation as to why the body remained in plain view of passers-by, many of them children.