Police are stepping up patrols amid fears of clashes as the funeral of a career criminal who was stabbed while burgling a pensioner’s home takes place.
Tensions in the Hither Green area of south-east London have been high since 37-year-old Henry Vincent died a month ago, and there are concerns over potential skirmishes during the lavish funeral procession expected later today.
His horse-drawn hearse will not directly pass the house of Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, who killed Mr Vincent in a violent struggle after he found him inside his home in South Park Crescent.
Police said “a large number of people” are expected to attend but the procession is not expected to enter the borough of Lewisham.
Scotland Yard, Kent Police and local councils have mounted a plan to prevent potential disorder and minimise traffic disruption.
“To provide community reassurance, there will be high-visibility patrols in the Hither Green and South Park Crescent area on the day of the funeral,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.
Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife are understood to be living in a safe house under police protection over fears of reprisals from the career criminal’s family and friends in the traveller community.
Flowers and tributes that piled up opposite the house, including from Mr Vincent’s daughters, have repeatedly been torn down, in one instances being stamped on by a man carrying a sign reading: “Stick your flowers where the sun don’t shine.”
Senior Metropolitan Police officers were forced to intervene in the dispute, saying they did not want “anyone to feel intimidated or that they are not being allowed to respond in a dignified way to a tragic death”.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Craig Mackey said: “This is a tragedy for the family who have lost a loved one. It is also a tragedy for the homeowner forced to take the action he did.”
Mr Osborn-Brooks was initially arrested on suspicion of murder, causing outrage from supporters who said he had the right to defend his home, but he was later released without charge.
An online fundraising campaign launched to cover any potential legal costs subsequently raised thousands of pounds.
Detectives said Mr Vincent threatened the pensioner with a screwdriver after he and an accomplice were disturbed shortly after midnight on 4 April.
The burglar was found collapsed in nearby Further Green Road with a stab wound and was later pronounced dead in hospital, while Mr Osborn-Brooks suffered injuries to his arms.
His suspected accomplice, 28-year-old Billy Jeeves, was later arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary, theft and possession of a controlled substance in Kent.
The pair were the subject of a wanted notice released by police in January over a distraction burglary in Farningham.
Mr Vincent and Mr Jeeves’ pictures and names were put out after jewellery and valuables were stolen from an elderly man.
He had opened his door to a woman who claimed to have been assaulted and be seeking refuge, until a white Ford Transit van – which had been stolen the previous day - picked her up.
Mr Vincent is believed to have served several years in prison after being among several family members jailed for 29 years at Croydon Crown Court in 2003 for conning vulnerable pensioners across London and Kent of almost £500,000.
Mr Vincent and his father were jailed again in 2011 for taking £72,000 from an 81-year-old man for unnecessary building work.
