A 78-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar was fatally stabbed at his home in London.

The pensioner, named locally as Richard Osborn-Brooks, discovered two intruders at his house in Hither Green, south-east London, late on Tuesday night and was forced into his kitchen by one of them, who was armed with a screwdriver, according to Scotland Yard.

While the second man was upstairs, detectives believe that a struggle ensued and the 38-year-old intruder was stabbed in the upper body. He was taken by an ambulance to a central London hospital where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The homeowner sustained bruising to his arms and has injuries that are said not to be life-threatening. He was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and subsequently on suspicion of murder, and was being questioned at a London police station on Wednesday.

The second suspect in the burglary is still being sought after fleeing the scene before the arrival of police, who were called by the pensioner at 12.45am to the property on Further Green Road.

The Metropolitan police were unable to confirm whether the dead suspect had been stabbed with the screwdriver.

Residents of the area were largely supportive of the homeowner and in some cases told of an apparent rise in crime.

Adam Lake, who lives at the end of Further Green Road, told the Guardian: “It was quite a shock this morning at 6am seeing the street cordoned off by police, though sadly not a surprise.



“While the area is lovely, there’s been a definite increase in crime over the past few months. Just recently my partner was threatened with a knife while walking our dog, and we’ve both been stopped countless times by people trying to sell us drugs, which is quite a shock given that this is a quiet suburban street.

“We’ve definitely felt less safe over the past few months and we’ve even decided to install CCTV, but at the end of the day that’s not going to protect you if someone breaks into your home.”

Thomas Preston, 34, a long-term resident of Hither Green, said: “I’m not aware that there has been an increase in burglaries necessarily, but there has been a lot of talk lately about cars getting broken into and I’ve seen kids with scooters snatch handbags from people. It’s the first time I’ve heard about a burglary with a weapon, though.



“I suspect that being arrested is the least traumatic thing that has happened to him in the last 24 hours. While I understand that the police have to speak to him if someone has died in his home, I hope that he’ll be released soon.”

The dead man’s next of kin have been informed and a formal identification will take place. A postmortem will be carried out in due course, and the homicide and major crime command is investigating the incident.