A man whose badly decomposed body was discovered in a Bradford flat had suffered more than 50 stab wounds, a court heard today.

Zairad Nawaz, 18, of Woodlands Road, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, appeared before Bradford magistrates charged with the murder of 23-year-old Mohammed Shafiq Ali at the flat in Ash Grove, Great Horton.

Vincent O’Malley, prosecuting, said Mr Ali’s decomposed body had been found at his bedsit. A forensic post-mortem examination found that he had 51 stab wounds to his body and face, which caused his death.

Magistrates were told that Mr Ali had died some time between October 25 and the date the body was discovered, Wednesday, November 26.

No members of Nawaz’s family were present in court to witness the proceedings and the court heard that his father lives in Pakistan.

His solicitor Iftikhar Ahmed made no application for bail and Nawaz was remanded in custody to appear at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday, December 11.

Mr Ali had moved to Bradford from Crumpsall in north Manchester.

Following the discovery of his remains, the area around the house was sealed off while a major investigation was started.

A Home Office pathologist was summoned to the terraced property and house-to-house inquiries were made.

Detective Superintendent Sukhbir Singh, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, is leading the investigation.