POLICE SEEK NEWS ON CIVIL SERVANT.

The death of a man found unconscious in East Sheen with serious injuries has left police mystified.

Dave South, 37, was found unconscious by a group of five people at 10.45pm on the Lower Mortlake Road a fortnight ago. He was taken to Charing Cross Hospital before being transferred to Kings College, but died this week.

Despite a fortnight of inquiries, police say they are still uncertain how Mr South met his death. A spokesman for Richmond Police said: "We are waiting for the results of the post mortem. Once we have those we will know which direction our investigation will take and what we'll be treating it as."

Detective Constable Dennis Griffiths said: "We don't know if he was beaten up, hit by a car or collapsed."

The initial wound was not life threatening but at some point Mr South inhaled his own vomit which led to breathing problems.

The police are still trying to piece together Mr South's movements on the Sunday night. He was last seen in the Jolly Gardeners pub at 10pm.

Landlord James Chapman said: "There were not many people in the pub and we were laughing and joking. He'd had a few to drink but he was not falling about all over the place. He walked out and said goodbye. We're all shocked at the news."

Mr South was a civil servant who lived at home with his mother.

She described her son as a loner who liked going out for walks but insists he was not drunk when he collapsed. She said: "Some people seem to think he was drunk but he would not have drunk that much."

Mrs South also pleaded for information about her son: "I hope someone, somewhere has the answer" she said.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Detective Constable Griffiths on 0181 247 7031.

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