Bognor murder - victim named

Bassett Road resident Mr Pudlowski, who was originally from Poland, was discovered on a bench in Waterloo Square about 3.30pm on Monday, August 3 by a member of the public, who immediately flagged down a police car.

An ambulance was called but he was pronounced dead.

Officers from Sussex Police's major crime branch have launched a murder inquiry after he was found to have serious bruising to his upper body. A post mortem was inconclusive and police are waiting for the results of toxicology tests to establish a cause of death.

Extensive inquiries are being carried out in the area. Officers are translating appeals into Polish and Russian in a bid to find potential key witnesses from other communities.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Johns, who is leading the inquiry, said: "We are working very closely with members of the local expanding communities team who are helping us to engage with the Polish and other Eastern Eurpean communities in the area.

"This is a vital line of inquiry and we very much want to forge a good working relationship with them.

"Mr Pudlowski's death, at this time, is still being treated as murder and officers are doing everything they can to establish what happened on Monday.

"It is believed that he was killed in the Bognor area and the key to finding the suspects lies with local people.

"Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately on 0845 60 70 999, quoting Operation Langston."

As a result of CCTV footage, police are confident Mr Pudlowski was alive at 3pm.

The post mortem was unable to determine what time he died. There is no evidence to suggest this was a racially motivated attack.

Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett, the police's district commander for Arun, said: "I would like to reassure the Bognor community that we continue to do all we can to establish what happened and I would ask that anyone who can provide any assistance or information to contact us.

"I would again particularly like to appeal to the local Polish community who live in the town to come forward with any information, no matter how small, that may be able to assist the inquiry."