St Helens man dies after assault

A man's died following an assault in St Helens on Friday 21 July.

65-year-old Len Saunders was seriously injured in an unprovoked assault as he walked with his friend on Ward Street.

They were approached by two younger men, and one asked Mr Saunders and his friend if they smoked and if he could borrow a cigarette. When the pair said they didn’t smoke, the 65 year old was then punched in the head by one of the offenders and fell to the ground.

The two offenders then ran off along Ward Street while Mr Saunders' friend called the emergency services.

He was taken to a local hospital with a serious head injury and then transferred to Walton Neurological Centre in Liverpool for treatment, but passed away yesterday.

Detectives have launched an investigation into the assault and are appealing for anyone who was in the area around Ward Street shortly before or afterwards the attack to come forward if they saw two young men aged in their late teens or early twenties acting suspiciously.

The first offender is described as white, slim, and around 5ft 8ins tall. He was wearing a dark-coloured baseball cap and an all grey tracksuit. The second man was also aged in his late teens or early twenties and around 5ft 8ins tall but of medium build. He was wearing a blue coat with a hood, dark-coloured jogging bottoms and had long dark hair.

Detective Inspector Cath Haggerty said: “This was a completely unprovoked assault by two youths on a much older man who was simply out and about with his friend. When they told the offenders that they didn’t smoke so couldn’t offer them a cigarette the 65-year-old gentleman was punched in the face. We believe the punch has knocked him to the floor where he has hit his head. I’m sure people living in the area will be disgusted by this incident so I would appeal for them to help us bring the offender or offenders to justice. It was a wet evening but plenty of people will still have been out walking or driving past at the time. If you remember seeing two young men acting suspiciously before the attack at 6.50pm or running away afterwards then please call us on 0151 777 6064 or leave information anonymously with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

A post mortem will now take place to establish the cause of Mr Saunders' death.