Murdered former Croydon resident worked at St George's Hospital, Tooting

The 28-year-old from London was arrested last night in the capital. He is being transported to custody in Sussex today.

A murder investigation was launched on Saturday after the body of a man was found in a flat in St George's Road, Kemp Town, Brighton, last Monday.

Although formal identification has not yet taken place the body is believed to be that of 63-year-old Michael Polding, of St George's Road.

This morning, his family spoke about his early struggles with his sexuality before living as a happy gay man in the Brighton community.

The statement said: "Michael grew up with us in Scotland but found his younger years difficult due to his sexuality.

"In the 1970s he decided to move to London where he felt it would be easier to live as an openly gay man.

"He spent many happy years in Croydon living with his partner Henry until he sadly died in 2001.

"He worked at St George's Hospital in Tooting for 15 years in the urology department. He enjoyed working with people and helping them while they were receiving treatment.

"Last year he decided to move to Brighton as he wanted to start a new life in the gay community in the city.

"Michael was a kind and caring man. Despite the distance between us he kept in close contact and we will miss him greatly."

The circumstances surrounding his death were not clear and a post-mortem was arranged for Saturday.

The results showed that Mr Polding suffered from several injuries which concerned officers and an investigation into his death was launched. Detective Chief Inspector Nick May of Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team is leading the investigation.

He said: "We are continuing to put together a picture of the circumstances surrounding Mr Polding's death and how he sustained his injuries.

"It is thought that he may have died sometime in May and we are still appealing for anyone who spoke to him in May this year to contact police.

"Mr Polding is an openly gay man who moved to Brighton only nine months ago from London. We are trying to build up a picture of his lifestyle in the city and would like to hear from anyone who knew him or knew of any friends or acquaintances he spent time with.

"We know that he moved to Brighton because he liked Kemp Town and we are hoping that the residents and visitors to this area can now help us to find out more about his life.

"Our investigation so far has led us to believe that his death is not linked to any hate crime as a result of his sexuality and that any assault he may have suffered was not as a result of a random attack."

Anyone with information about Mr Polding is asked to contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting Operation Journal or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.