MUD ISLAND

Yet another reason never to go back (from the Telegraph)...

One man has died after two teenagers carried out a series of "violent and unprovoked" attacks on the South Bank in central London.

At least four other assaults took place within 15 minutes in the early hours of Saturday along a short stretch of the riverside route as people walked home from a night out.

David Morley, 37, a barman from Chiswick, west London, was punched and kicked in the final attack close to Hungerford Bridge and died in hospital from multiple injuries. He had sustained more than 40 bruises. His 29-year-old friend was also beaten.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola, of the Specialist Crime Directorate, said: "People returning home were targeted in violent and unprovoked assaults. Clearly robbery was one of the motives we are looking at, but we are keeping an open mind.

"This is a well lit area and would have been busy with people returning home from the theatre, from restaurants and from the city at the time the attacks took place."

The youths, one black and one white, were spotted with two young women and stole money from two of their victims. Detectives were studying CCTV footage from the area and interviewed 70 people at the scene.

The first attack took place at 3.15am when a 35-year-old man was hit over the head with an unidentified object as he sat in Jubilee Gardens, near the London Eye. Ten minutes later, two men, aged 29 and 25, were assaulted close to the Royal Festival Hall and suffered minor injuries.

At around 3.30am, yards from the scene of the two earlier assaults, Mr Morley and his friend were attacked.

One witness said the youths had also set upon a woman, punching her in the face at the bottom of the steps leading to Hungerford Bridge.

After the fatal attack, the group fled through Jubilee Gardens towards the Shell Centre, headquarters of the oil company.

Mr Scola said: "The unpredictable nature of these attacks means the assailants could strike again."