Man arrested over murder of Irish man in London

A man has been arrested in London in connection with the murder of an Irish man who was found injured in a skip on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said a 21-year-old was arrested this morning at an address in Purley, on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody.

Police said the dead man had been formally identified as Michael Hunt, who was aged 37, from the Selhurst area.

Mr Hunt was an Irish national from Waterford, Ireland. Police said his next of kin had been informed.

A postmortem began yesterday at Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley. It has yet to conclude, police said today.

An inquest is also due to open and adjourn at Croydon Coroner’s Court today.

“At this stage officers can confirm that Mr Hunt was found in a skip at the far end of an alleyway off Station Road, South Norwood at approximately 0700hrs on Saturday, 15 March,” a police statement said.

“He was taken by ambulance to Kings College Hospital, where he died shortly before midday. Mr Hunt was suffering from injuries to his head and body which officers believe were consistent with an assault.”

An investigation is being led by officers from the Homicide and Major Crime Command.

Detective Chief Inspector Diane Tudway said: "Michael Hunt was well known in the local community and I would urge anyone with information, or who may have seen Mr Hunt in the time prior to him being found, to come forward and speak to police.

“The information available to us at this stage leads us to believe that Mr Hunt was not the victim of a stranger or random attack. However, our enquiries continue.

“At this time our thoughts are with Michael’s friends and family, both here in London and in Ireland.”

Police asked anyone with information to contact the incident room on 0044 (0)20 8721 4005.

Enquiries are ongoing.