The young man who died after being wrestled to the floor by a police officer following a chase in east London had not swallowed drugs, forensic tests have revealed.

Rashan Charles, 20, was pronounced dead in hospital after being restrained in a shop in Dalston on July 22 – sparking both peaceful and violent protests in the community.

CCTV footage of the incident appeared to show him swallowing an object as he ran into the shop at around 1.45am.

The images then show him being grabbed by the officer who wrestles him to the floor, with the pair struggling for at least a minute.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said on Wednesday evening that forensic tests revealed the object “did not contain a controlled substance”.

The watchdog added: "Our independent investigation is thoroughly examining all aspects of police interaction with Rashan prior to his death and has already undertaken a large number of investigative actions.

"The IPCC has now received results of forensic analysis of an object that was removed from Rashan’s airway by paramedics. The object did not contain a controlled substance."

The watchdog said IPCC staff met with Mr Charles's family on Wednesday afternoon to update them with the results of the forensic analysis.

It added that a post mortem took place on Monday 24 July and investigators are awaiting the preliminary findings from the pathologist.

The father-of-one's family have urged calm following a series of protests against police in east London over his death.

On Friday evening, a large gang of protesters - many of whom had their faces covered - clashed with riot police as tensions came to a head.

The group blocked busy Kingsland Road before hurling bottles, stones and other objects at police and starting a fire in the middle of the road.

A vigil held the following day outside Stoke Newington police station saw Mr Charles' father call for "dignified" demonstrations.

He was joined by Shadow home secretary and Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott, who told the crowd she felt it was important to attend the vigil to "show her support".

Those in the crowd at the vigil could be heard chanting "no justice, no peace" as they called for the police officer who arrested Mr Charles to be suspended.

Last week, the IPCC said the evidence it had seen so far suggested that Mr Charles was detained by a Metropolitan Police officer who had followed him on foot into a shop on Kingsland Road after an earlier attempted vehicle stop.

The officer restrained Mr Charles, with the help of a member of the public, and he was handcuffed.

After he was detained, attempts were made to remove an object from his mouth or throat.

His condition deteriorated, and the officer called for a police medic who provided assistance prior to the arrival of paramedics, according to the IPCC.

Weyman Bennett, co-convenor at Stand Up To Racism, said: "We now know that the initial statements put out at the time of Rashan's death were misleading or outright lies. Justification for his death looks increasingly at the hands of those people that forcibly restrained him.

"The attempt to smear Rashan as somebody involved in drugs was an attempt to assassinate his character. We hold the police wholly responsible for these false statements that were put out, and we demand justice for Rashan."