Tributes paid to homeless man, named locally as Kaz, found dead in River Darent

Police pulled the body of the Polish man, named locally as Kaz, after it was seen floating in water just after 8am on Saturday morning (September 26).

Flowers in memory of Kaz

Martine Williams, 33 of Salisbury Road paid tribute to her friend.

She said: "He was an absolute diamond geezer. 

"He was always really polite, sometimes he got into trouble but he never looked for it.

"He was a friendly face around town.

"I have no idea what happened.

"He was funny as anything and never nasty.

"He would always be nice to everyone. He will be missed.

"We always had a nice time here with friendly banter. It is such a waste. He was a lovely person.

"All we can do is thank him for being a part of the community, in Polish it's dziekuje, and he was a big part of this community."

Friends of Kaz, Yuri Jerzy, 59, of no fixed abode and Martine Williams, 33.

Miss Williams called for more homeless shelters in the borough.

She added: "I think we do need to have places that homeless people can go. 

"It isn't just the Polish, you have a lot of vulnerable people in this country including youngsters and women too.

"The foodbank does help but it's only one day a week to sleep.

"There should be more places for homeless people to find.

Kaz was believed to have previously stayed at one of the churches involved in a collective scheme which provides hot meals and shelter during the winter periods.

Dartford Churches Cold Weather Shelter posted on social media: "Yesterday, we all gathered together to celebrate Dartford Cold weather shelter and to plan/pray ahead towards the next one. 

"We are all on fire ready to go and then this morning we learn of the passing away of one of our dearest loveliest guests.

"If nothing else, this shows how much Dartford needs a permanent homeless shelter which run all through the year." 

Tributes on social media have described him as a "lovely man with a lovely smile".

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A spokesman for Kent Police said: "The man has not been formally identified but is thought to be man who was sleeping rough in the local area aged in his 50s."

A South East Coast Ambulance spokesman added: "The call came in just after 8am, reporting a body has been seen in the river.

"Paramedics attended the scene, along with two vehicles from our Hazardous Area Response Team.

"However sadly we were unable to help the patient, who was pronounced dead at the scene."

Figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) indicate the capital is bearing the brunt of the country's housing crisis with an increase of 10 per cent since last year.

Enquiries are underway to establish what happened. The death is not currently being treated as suspicious.

Anyone with information is urged to call contact Kent Police on 101 quoting incident number 26-325.

To pay tribute to the victim, ring 01689 885702 or email josie.griffiths@london.newsquest.co.uk.

Tributes for Kaz