Elderly man dies after being 'detained' by neighbour following 'row over damaged car'

The 86-year-old collapsed shortly after police arrived at the scene in Oldham, Greater Manchester

The pensioner had lived on Housley Avenue, Chadderton for several decades, according to neighbours (Google Maps )

An elderly man has died after being “detained” by his neighbour for 90 minutes "over a dispute about a damaged car".

The 86-year-old, named locally as Bill Singleton, collapsed shortly after police arrived at the scene in Oldham, Greater Manchester on Saturday.

In a statement police said they were called at 8:45pm following reports a man in his 80’s had damaged a car on Housley Avenue, Chadderton and had been detained by a member of the public.

At 10:10 pm officers attended the address where the man had fallen ill and stopped breathing.

According to police reports, CPR was performed and an ambulance called. The man was taken to hospital where he later died.

A Home Office post-mortem was undertaken yesterday.

Police are appealing for witnesses, but said no arrests have been made and the death is not being treated as suspicious.

It is understood police were in contact with Mr Singleton before his death, meaning the case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Mr Singleton, who had lived on the road for many decades, was described by neighbours as “the loveliest man”.

His neighbour, Susan Harper, told the Manchester Evening News: “He was just the loveliest man you could ever know. He would do anything for everybody and would always lend you a hand."

Detective Inspector Richard Ennis said: “We are currently supporting the man’s family who are obviously upset with their loss as we continue to investigate the circumstances of what happened.

“At this moment in time, we are not treating his death as suspicious but I would ask anyone who was in the Housley Avenue area at around 8:45pm and may have witnessed anything to call police.

“As with all incidents where someone has died and there has been police contact, there has been a mandatory referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.”

Anyone with information should phone police on 0161 856 9049 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.