STUNNED neighbours have recalled the chilling moment they realised a man had been bludgeoned to death outside their homes.
Brian Messitt, 67, died after being attacked with an axe in Eton Avenue at around 9.30am on Monday. He suffered serious head injuries after being dealt a series of crippling blows with a two-foot hatchet.
The extent of the attack left Mr Messitt’s head partially detached. His body was found in a pool of blood after a man and woman passing in a car stopped and called police.
Mr Messitt’s attacker was said to look emotionless and made no attempt to flee the scene before armed police arrived and restrained him.
Nick Blackford, 20, who lives in Eton Avenue, known for its high house prices and celebrity residents, said he was shocked to see the dead man lying on the pavement.
He said: “I saw the body and an axe lying next to it. There were scaffolders working on a house who had iron bars. They tried to stop it but they were too late. The police van pulled up. The guy (attacker) knew it was coming. They handcuffed him and led him off.”
Mr Blackford added that Mr Messitt had tried to defend himself with a dustbin lid but to no avail.
Policy researcher Margaret Mikkelsen, another Eton Avenue resident, said one of her neighbours had warned her not to look out at the gruesome murder scene. She said: “I am glad that I didn’t see. I saw the axe, to me it was more it seemed more of a hatchet.”
Police confirmed that the weapon was a two-foot hatchet. Detectives have charged a man with murder but they are still investigating possible links between the suspect and the dead man.
Many residents said that they simply saw Mr Messitt’s body lying face down. They jammed police switchboards as they desperately called for help. A worker in a garage in nearby Lambolle Road said: “I saw what looked like a body on the floor and plenty of blood. A husband and wife came up to me. The woman was clearly distressed. She said ‘don’t go down there it’s horrific’.”
Ms Mikkelsen had been trying to get her baby to sleep when the screams began.
She said: “It is scary. It is an upsetting thing to happen.”