Man killed after being ‘struck on head with concrete slab’ on Kent beach

A man killed on a beach was hit on the head with a concrete slab, it’s been claimed.

Three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the victim, aged in his forties, was found in Leysdown-on-Sea.

Kent Police were called to the scene on the Isle of Sheppey at about 7pm on Sunday evening after the ‘altercation’ involving a ‘small group’ of people.

They found a man who had been assaulted, suffering serious injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been told.

A group of holidaymakers alleged the victim had been hit in the head with a large concrete slab, as locals including a pub landlord tried to save his life.

One dad-of-three, who asked not to be named, said he saw the victim being chased along a path, MailOnline reports.

The eyewitness, who is on holiday in Leysdsown with his family, saw one youth doubled over and bleeding from a wound above his right eye, while the victim was being chased by a boy and two girls.

At first he thought the other teens had mugged the child with an eye injury, but when he walked further on he found the older man slumped on the floor.

He added: ‘As I walked further down the path, I could see the man lying on the floor with people standing around him. There was a woman trying to give him CPR.

‘I checked his body and there was no blood so he hadn’t been stabbed or anything like that. The lady who was trying to give CPR – along with another man – said she’d seen a youth kick the victim in the head.

‘It was obvious to me he was dead and that nobody was going to bring him back. My 11-year-old son was with me, I tried to shield him as best I could and told him to cycle back to the caravan right away.

‘Eventually, I found them by a fish and chip shop. I shouted to them “you’ve just killed a man. You haven’t just done him…you’ve f***ing killed him”.

‘It’s shaken me up but my real concern is for my son. He shouldn’t have to see that at his age. We only arrived on Friday for a two-week holiday.’

Staff at the nearby Warden Bay pub were alerted to the incident when someone came to the pub asking to use the defibrillator mounted on the property.

Its landlord, Chris Prime, took the device over to the scene before the emergency services arrived to try and help.

A spokesperson for the pub told Metro: ‘The attack happened on the beach opposite our pub. The police have been in contact with us to view our CCTV footage.

‘The person involved had not been in our pub, and outside footage did not show him going to the beach from Warden Bay village.

‘It is assumed he had come along the beach from the Leysdown direction.

‘The alarm was raised to use when we were asked to use the emergency defibrillator, which was taken over to use before the emergency services arrived.’

Shortly after the man died, officers arrested a 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, on suspicion of his murder.

They are still in custody as the investigation continues.

The manager of an amusement arcade said a number of teenagers were arrested inside his business.

Anthony West, 29, is site manager at Jimmy G’s Amusements and told The Sun: ‘They were arrested in our arcade.

‘I was working in the ice cream shop across the road at the time.

‘I heard a commotion so came outside to see what was going on.

‘There were four cop cars parked out the front. One of the boys was in handcuffs in the car.’

A police cordon has been set up in a large clearing behind the beach in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort, in front of a caravan park.

One local resident was surprised that her afternoon walk was disrupted, as she thought the helicopter sent last night was the coast guard which they ‘get a lot’ at this time of year.

Anyone who may have witnessed something has been urged to call Kent Police.

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