A man who was attacked during riots in England has died in hospital from his injuries, becoming the fifth fatality from the unrest which flared in London six days ago, police said.

Richard Mannington Bowes, 68, was found unconscious late on Monday in Ealing, a west London suburb where several buildings were looted and cars torched.

The BBC is reporting that Mr Bowes was set upon while he tried to stamp out a fire during the riots in west London.

Police officers who tried to come to the man's aid were pelted with missiles.

"This was a brutal incident that resulted in the senseless killing of an innocent man," Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane said.

Police launched a murder inquiry and released CCTV footage of a "strong suspect" who is now being held on suspicion of murder, rioting and carrying out three burglaries.

Mr Bowes was pronounced dead at 11:52 pm (local time) Thursday and a post-mortem will be carried out.

The riots have now claimed the lives of five men. One man was shot during disturbances in Croydon, south London on Monday, and three men were struck by a car as they defended their property from looters in Birmingham on Tuesday.

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British police have now begun hunting down suspected rioters and officers have been given extra powers to combat the violence.

Police have begun raiding houses across London and more than 100 warrants have been issued.

Courts stayed open on Thursday night for a second night to deal with a backlog of around 1,500 people arrested during the riots. Several people received jail sentences on Thursday while others were bailed.

Those facing judges have included an 11-year-old girl who admitted criminal damage in the central English city of Nottingham, a 17-year-old dancer, a chef, a teaching assistant, an opera steward and an army recruit.

The wave of riots across England was triggered by the death of a man in a police shooting last week.

Mark Duggan, 29, was killed by armed officers on August 4 in Tottenham, north London after they stopped the taxi he was in during an attempted arrest as part of Operation Trident.

A probe into Mr Duggan's death heard on Tuesday that he was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest.

ABC/wires