The deaths of a man and woman whose bodies were discovered inside a house are being treated as suspicious, police said.
Staffordshire Police said the bodies were found at about 12.50pm on Monday at an address in Ness Grove, Cheadle, which was subsequently sealed off.
Forensics officers were still at the semi-detached home and could be seen placing items inside one of two police vehicles parked on the driveway of the house and the adjoining property.
Meanwhile, local residents said several plain-clothed detectives arrived shortly after uniformed officers were called to the scene on Monday.
One neighbour, who asked not be identified, said a middle-aged couple who she did not know well had lived at the house for between five and ten years.
"I just couldn't believe it when I saw the police there," the neighbour said. "It was a beautiful day yesterday and I went into the porch to put some papers out and I looked up and thought: 'What's going on?'
"The woman who lived there would chat to me if I was passing and she was on the front lawn - whatever has happened, it's awful that two people have died."
Police have refused to say whether or not any weapons have been recovered from the house, which remained sealed off as forensics officers carried out investigations.
Reading out a statement to reporters gathered outside the property, Inspector Clare Riley, the policing commander for the Staffordshire Moorlands, said: "The deaths are being treated as unexplained and a detailed investigation to determine the circumstances of the deaths is now under way."
No-one else is currently being sought in connection with the deaths, Ms Riley said, but patrols have been increased to reassure local people.
