Mitcham Common corpse was "heavy drinker" and "vagrant"

The Metropolitan Police have appealed to fly-tippers for information about the dead man, whose remains were found by two men looking for scrap metal in an area notorious for dumped rubbish on Mitcham Common.

The man, who could have died as young as 35, was found lying on a bank, face down, with his feet elevated on a hill next to an industrial estate in Red House Road, on Monday, January 17.

Police: Death is "unexplained"

Detective Sergeant Andy Nimmo, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said the man’s death was unexplained, after forensic tests uncovered no evidence he had been murdered.

D Sgt Nimmo said: “We don’t know whether the man was murdered and dumped here or went to sleep and died of a heart attack.

“We are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of his death, but are anxious to identify the body so we can piece together how he died.

“It is known fly-tippers use this location regularly, generally through the night. We would like them to come forward in case they saw anything that might help our inquiries.”

Missing teeth suggest he was homeless

Two-thirds of the man’s body had almost completely decomposed, but tests have revealed he had dark brown or black hair and was between 5ft 7in and 5ft 9in.

Police also think the man was British after identifying antiquated NHS dental work on his teeth, many of which were missing and suggested he was a heavy drinker and a vagrant.

Images of the dead man’s clothes have also been released: a dark-coloured Slazenger fleece top with a broad stripe down both arms (size large) and dark coloured tracksuit bottoms with metal poppers on the bottom of the legs with orange and white piping.

The national and local missing persons’ register has also been scoured, but no match has yet been found for the description of the body.

Anyone with information should contact Lewisham police station on 020 8721 4906, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.