Elderly man dies after bashing in London riots

A 68-year-old man severely bashed by youths during the London riots has died, Scotland Yard says.

Richard Mannington Bowes suffered head injuries from the beating on a road in Ealing, west London, on Monday night.

He had been set upon by the youths after he tried to stop them from setting fire to two industrial bins outside a shopping center, Press Association reports.

He died just before midnight on Thursday.

Scotland Yard said Bowes, of Ealing, was attacked about 10.45pm and had been on life support since.

Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: "This was a brutal incident that resulted in the senseless killing of an innocent man.

"I still need the assistance of the community, who may have witnessed the attack on Richard, to come forward and provide information or images they may have recorded on mobile devices. This information could be crucial in catching his killer", PA reports.

Police have released two CCTV images of a male suspect whom they say was actively engaged in the rioting and looting that devastated the area.

Detectives said the suspect was appeared to be known to a considerable number of youths and young men who were also in the area.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has been urged to rethink police cuts after the deaths of three young Birmingham men, who were hit by a car during violent disturbances in the city.

The Guardian reports:

As the Police Federation warned of a "catastrophe" if similar riots erupted after the cuts were introduced, a senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn (U.S. $3.2 billion) from police funding over the next few years.

"The optics have changed," the source told the Guardian.

The community in Birmingham lined the streets on Thursday to support a father who lost his youngest son during the riots in Britain's second city.

Tariq Jahan's son, 21-year-old Haroon Jahan, was one of three men of South Asian origin killed.

Dozens of bunches of flowers were laid around two lampposts by the entrance to the petrol station which the young men were guarding from looters early Wednesday before they were mown down by a car traveling at high speed, AFP reports.