Police hold man over murder of hospital worker

Michael Polding Pic: Sussex Police

A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a former Croydon hospital worker whose body is believed to have been in his Brighton flat for up to two months before it was discovered by police.

Michael Polding 63, who moved from Croydon to Brighton only recently, was found dead in his flat in the Kemp Town area of the city last week. Police suspect that he may have been dead for over two months. The alarm was only raised after his family reported him missing.

Polding had lived and worked in Croydon for fifteen years, mainly in the urology department at St George’s Hospital, before deciding to start a new life in Brighton.

Police said Polding has been described as an ‘openly gay man’ whose long term partner had died some years ago and had recently decided to move to Brighton as he wanted to start a new life in the gay community in the city. The family statement added: ‘’Michael was a kind a caring man, and we will miss him greatly.”

Although Polding was gay, police said that they did not believe that his murder was a hate crime. Police suspect that the victim knew the man they are questioning and they were not treating the incident as random.

The arrested man is being held in Brighton for questioning.

Anyone with information about Polding is asked to call Sussex Police on 101 quoting Operation Journal, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

By Ufuoma Essi

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