Arrest made in Polish man murder probe

A 33-year-old man was arrested today by detectives investigating the murder of a Polish man who was found dead on a bench in a seaside town.

A member of the public found the body of Marek Pudlowski, 51, in Waterloo Square, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, on the afternoon of August 3.

Detectives from Sussex Police's major crime branch launched a murder inquiry after a post-mortem examination found he had suffered severe bruising to his upper body.

A police spokesman said a local man was arrested this morning and he will be interviewed later today. Earlier this month a £5,000 reward was put up for information leading to a conviction.

Extensive inquiries have been carried out among the Polish and Eastern European communities in Bognor, and leaflets and posters were distributed to publicise the reward.

In the days after the death, police released CCTV footage of Mr Pudlowski, who lived in Bassett Road, Bognor, stumbling into a bank to sit down hours before he was found dead.

Images showed bank staff handing him a bucket in a branch of HSBC in the town, seemingly unaware that he had been attacked and was in pain.

A recorded appeal was also made by Mr Pudlowski's daughter, Agniezka Pudlowska, who flew with relatives to the UK from Poland to urge witnesses to come forward.

In her tearful appeal, Ms Pudlowska said: "Please remember that Marek Pudlowski was a father, he was a husband, he was a brother and he was an uncle. Please, if you can help us, we would be very, very grateful."