A body has been found next to the M6 three weeks after the disappearance of a driver whose car crashed off the same stretch of motorway.

West Midlands Police said it had discovered the body of a man in an "inaccessible area of waste ground" next to the M6, while searching for Zahid Mirza.

The 40-year-old from Chelmsley Wood in Solihull, near Birmingham, had not been since his damaged car was found abandoned on January 15.

The force said its professional standards department would now refer its handling of the investigation to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), as is usual in such circumstances.

Police believe Mr Mirza's car crashed on the M6 southbound between junction 4A and junction 5, near Coleshill, in the West Midlands, last month.

The car had crashed through a barrier and was found abandoned nearby.

Officers said they carried out a search of the immediate area at the time, but had found no trace of the driver.

It then emerged that Mr Mirza's family had not seen him since the day of the crash.

Specialist police search teams were sent back to comb the area at the weekend and discovered a body on Sunday night.

The remains have not been formally identified but Mr Mirza's family has been informed.

Detective Superintendent Tom Chisholm said: "At the time of the collision in January, a search was made of the immediate area, but there was no trace of the driver.

"Following inquiries, we discovered that Mr Mirza's family have had no contact with him since then, so specialist officers have been in the area over the past two days carrying out searches.

"On Sunday the search team discovered the body of a man in an inaccessible area of waste ground."

A post mortem will take place in due course to establish the cause of death.