Family pay loving tribute as detectives continue to investigate man's death in Bacup
Sunday, November 2, 2025
Detectives investigating the death of a man in Bacup are continuing to appeal for footage and witnesses.
It comes as the family of the deceased, who we can now name as 37-year-old Luke Harden, have paid a loving tribute to him.
They wrote: “There are no words to describe how devastated we all are. We wish our Luke could see the outpouring of love from everyone who knows him. He is and will always be special to us all, as a son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, uncle, boyfriend and friend. You will be forever in our hearts and minds, and we are comforted knowing we can shut our eyes and your beautiful face will always be smiling back at us. Rest in peace, our gorgeous Luke, until we will meet again.”
Officers on patrol in Newchurch Road at 12.35am yesterday (1st November) came across paramedics giving CPR to Luke on the pavement.
Despite their best efforts Luke was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene. Our thoughts remain with Luke’s loved ones who are being supported by specially trained officers at this time.
A Home Office post mortem examination to establish the cause of Luke’s death was taking place this morning.
Following enquiries, a 26-year-old man from Bacup and a 27-year-old woman from Bacup were arrested on suspicion of murder. Detectives were last night granted a further period of detention and both suspects remain in custody.
DCI Bryony Midgley, form our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “A man has lost his life and first and foremost my thoughts remain with Luke’s loved ones at this extremely distressing time.
“I have a dedicated team of officers working around the clock to establish the exact circumstances which led to Luke's death.
“I am aware of speculation surrounding this case and while I appreciate that people have legitimate concerns, I would like to remind everyone that there is a grieving family looking to the police for answers and the spread of misinformation helps nobody. Firstly, the male suspect in this case is not an asylum seeker, as has been speculated about online. Secondly, I would ask that people do not guess about the cause of Luke's death and for it to be left to medical experts. Speculation of this nature causes further distress to Luke’s loved ones.
“Finally, I would like to thank the people of Bacup for the information and footage they have provided so far. However, we are still asking for anyone who has information that would help our investigation to come forward. We are particularly keen to hear from any witnesses or anyone with dashcam or doorbell footage covering the area between 11.45pm and 12.35am to come forward. We also want to hear from anyone who was in the Rosemount Working Men’s Club on Friday night.”
Email [email protected] or contact 101 and quote log 50 of 1st November 2025.
