MYSTERY still surrounds the death of a 52-year-old Padiham man who suffered horrific head injuries on his way home from a night out.

Detectives are tracing the final journey of George Jarrad, who was found lying outside his Warwick Drive home in the early hours of Friday.

He died from a fractured skull later that day in hospital, but police do not know whether he was the victim of a brutal attack or a tragic accident.

A murder-style inquiry is under way and police want the public to come forward with information.

Detectives hope to trace a young man wearing camouflage trousers and army-type jumper spotted leaving the scene. He was seen running along Dryden Street towards Padiham.

They also need to find Mr Jarrad's glasses, which were seen under the Shakespeare Street railway bridge by a woman on Monday. She placed them on the wall, but when she went back they had gone.

Police think Mr Jarrad, who spent the evening at Rosegrove Railway Club, probably walked the mile home, and would have had to go under the railway at some point.

He was found by his 15-year-old son, David, who looked outside after hearing the key turn in the lock.

Detective Chief Inspector John Thornley said: "We are still treating this as a suspicious death. The injuries suffered by Mr Jarrad are consistent with him falling over.

"There is no obvious motive for murder at this stage. Mr Jarrad still had all his personal property on him."

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