Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

David Lytton ‘spent final years in Pakistan’

A pensioner found dead on Saddleworth Moor in northwest England has been identified after a year of investigation, although many details of his life and death remain shrouded in mystery.

The man was identified last week as David Lytton, a 67-year-old south London resident who spent the last decade of his life in Lahore, Pakistan.


Further inquiry into his past led investigators to Streatham in south London, where Lytton lived from at least 1972 until his departure for Pakistan in 2005.

Peter Dias, who lived next door to Lytton from the 1980s until his departure, expressed shock at the news, describing him as a recluse.

He said: “I just wouldn’t have thought he would have done something like that but I do know David was quite a lonely character. In all the years we lived here with him, we’ve had little interactions, but he was always a pleasant person.”

Dias claimed that his neighbour had opened up slightly after he had invited him to a family wedding in 1994.

He said: “I think David was just glad that we invited him to the wedding and he took the opportunity to come. He was quite social on his table that he was sitting at apparently.”

Dias also revealed that Lytton had worked as a Tube and taxi driver and that his relocation to Pakistan appeared to have been sudden.

Lytton’s body was found on December 12, 2015, near the summit of Indian’s Head in the Peak district. His death was the result of ingesting strychnine, a substance banned in Europe but commonly used as a pesticide in Pakistan.

Interviews revealed that Melvin Robinson, the landlord of the Clarence pub in Greenfield, was likely the last person to have spoken to Lytton, who had entered the pub to ask for directions to the Indian’s Head summit.

Robinson informed him of the route, but suggested he would not be able to return before sunset.

Lytton’s body was found by a cyclist the next morning, on a secluded path. He had several items on him at the time of his death, including three train tickets, an empty bottle of medicine inscribed with Arabic writing and £130 in £10 notes.

His lack of identification led to speculation about his identity and why he had decided to end his life at that location.

Using CCTV footage, investigators were able to track his movements back to Ealing Broadway in west London, where he began his journey by train after arriving in the UK via Heathrow two days prior to his death.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Lytton had a titanium plate fitted onto his left thigh bone, an uncommon operation carried out in just 15 hospitals in Pakistan.

A DNA comparison with a family member confirmed his identity. A full inquest will take place in March.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less