George Michael’s family are bracing themselves for more bad news as police widened their probe into the singer's mystery death.

Detectives have spent the past week looking at the number plates of cars ­connected to George’s riverside house.

They are trying to trace the owners of vehicles which were either seen arriving at or parked near the property.

Contrary to reports that the Wham! singer had turned into a loner, the Sunday People can reveal he had a procession of visitors in the run-up to his unexplained death at the age of 53 on Christmas Day.

A source close to the police inquiry said: “Officers are stepping up the ­investigation into the days leading up to George’s death and focusing on those who came and went to see George.

“They may have vital information which could be of use.

“There are still vehicles that were near the property which the police are trying to trace the owners of.

“The police will take as long as they need to. The aim for them is to get an accurate picture as possible of George’s final days.”

(Image: FameFlynet)

But a family member told us: “I’m worried that because everything is ­taking so long that it’s going to be bad news. We’re now fearing the worst.

“We just want to know what ­happened. Why was he on his own? Why did his ­boyfriend sleep in his car when George has a big house? It’s all very strange.

“We’re being kept in the dark. We’re still ­waiting to hear about the ­funeral. We just want ­answers and to lay him to rest.”

George’s live-in lover Fadi Fawaz, 40, who found his body at their home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, looked glum ­yesterday as he bought a coffee in West London. A ­postmortem on the Careless Whisper singer came back inconclusive.

Now ­officers are waiting for the results of a further toxicology report. Some reports have claimed he may have suffered a drugs overdose.

Last week ­pictures emerged which showed the star was not a loner in the days before he died. At least ten people arrived at his large detached house.

(Image: Carlos Arturo Ortiz)

As well as boyfriend Fadi, members of George’s team, his staff and friends also called at the rural retreat.

But George was never pictured ­outside the house.

Questions continue to be asked about Fadi’s behaviour the night before his celebrity boyfriend died.

The former hairdresser claimed he fell asleep in his car on Christmas Eve.

Met Police officers are continuing to sift through interviews, photographs and statements to determine how George died.

Today one of George’s former lovers, Colombian hairdresser Carlos Ortiz, said he fears the superstar may have killed himself. Carlos, 59, who met George in Australia three years ago, said: “I had an intuitive feeling about it last year.

“And it seems very coincidental to me that he was found dead on Christmas Day because he told me he hated Christmas as there were never any ­children around.

“For me it is sadly a possibility he may have overdosed.”

Carlos added: “George’s death knocked me sideways, although it didn’t surprise me.

“I found him a lovely down-to-earth man, but also a very melancholic person who I feared might one day take his own life.

“He told me he was addicted to ­anti-depressant medicine and trying to wean himself off it and confessed he was unhappy.

“We talked about his superstar ­status and I told him I thought that with his fame and talent and money he had all he needed to be happy.

“But when he started talking about the anti-depressants he took I asked him outright if he was happy in life and he replied, ‘No, I’m not.’”

Carlos’s comments came as George’s final moments were revealed by Fadi’s nephew Josh.

(Image: David Shepherd)

He told how his distraught uncle called him in floods of tears after ­finding the pop legend unresponsive in bed on December 25.

The conversation took place as ­paramedics tried to revive him, with Fadi telling Josh: “Oh God, I think he’s dead. George he’s not moving.

“Oh God, he’s dead. They’re taking his body away now.”

Josh said: “Two days prior to George’s death I was in a pub in London with my uncle and he called George to say he’d be home soon.

“They were living together. They hadn’t split.

“I’ve never heard a grown man cry so much. Fadi called me saying, ‘What am I going to do without him?’

“They spent almost every day ­together for six years.

“He was so upset, he had been crying at the house beside George.

“Fadi has had the finger pointed at him but it’s all bullsh**.” Fadi has been interviewed for a second time by police as they prepare a coroner’s report.

(Image: David Shepherd)

George’s godson Roman Kemp has told how his death has been “tough” saying: “It’s a difficult thing.”

The Capital FM DJ, 23, was planning to have a Boxing Day ­dinner with the singer. Roman admits it has been difficult getting his head round George’s sudden death.

He said: “My connection to George is very personal to me. It means a lot. He was an ­incredible artist and will be timeless. It’s been tough, it’s a difficult thing. People forget that he’s a person and it’s very personal.

“I’ve got some great memories but they are personal to me. I miss him.”

George sold more than 80 million records worldwide in a career spanning four decades.

He began as one half of pop duo Wham! but became famous in his own right with his debut solo single Careless Whisper.

His 1987 debut solo album Faith sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

He chalked up seven No1 singles in the UK and eight No1s in the US. Last month George was reported to have rekindled his friendship with the man he once declared to be the love of his life, Texan art dealer Kenny Goss.

The couple were together for 13 years before the star’s split from Kenny in 2009.

George’s last tweet was in September.

But last month his Facebook page said he was busy ­putting the finishing touches to a documentary film called Freedom.

He had reportedly planned to ­release a new album this year.

George nearly died from pneumonia in late 2011 and survived only after doctors performed a tracheotomy to keep his airways open.