TRIBUTES have been paid to a man found dead at North Star near the grounds of Swindon College and the Oasis yesterday.

He has been named on social media by friends as Dan Greenwood from Ferndale.

Last year, Dan spoke to the Adver about how he’d started getting into amateur boxing to move away from his troubled past of prison, homelessness and drug addiction.

He’d been optimistic about the new hobby and spoke with particular enthusiasm about his first match.

Dan told the Adver: “I trained really hard four or five times a week for three months. I focused on the fight and... I wanted to be in the best shape I could be in.

“I had to put on the best show I could and I did it for myself and everyone who has supported me.

“We were the last fight of the night, and the main event. It was a massive confidence boost for me and the crowd were all cheering me on.

“It was three rounds and I went to the end of round two, and I gave it all I had.”

Darren Jones was Dan’s first opponent in a boxing match, which took place during the Swindon Fight Club at the Meca in February 2017.

The pair quickly became good friends.

Darren said: “He was a great lad, a happy guy. We got on like a house on fire, he was great company and better than most people out there.

“He came into the boxing games and got put against someone like me, who had had 60-fights and that was his first one.

“He gave me a tough little fight, but lost, then he got better and better, and won the rematch.

“He had personal problems and there were a lot of haters but there were also a lot of people who liked him and he held his head up high.

“I thought he was doing really well for himself until I heard what happened.

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a hoax at first, until I spoke to his mum.

"He’ll never be forgotten.”

Dan was discovered at 11.20am yesterday and officers placed a tent at the scene while they carried out their investigations.

The woodland area where the body was found is in sight of passing Swindon College students.

A cordon surrounded the tent, with a second cordon extending to a field opposite a bus stop by the campus.

Two police cars, a police van, and a forensic investigation van parked near the bus stop while the police were in attendance.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “We were called by the ambulance service to a report that a male had been found deceased near grounds at Swindon College at 11.20am today.

“His next of kin have been informed.”

Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.