Lancashire Police have confirmed that a teenager has been charged in relation to the death of an elderly man in Preston.

We were called at around 3pm on Friday (September 10th) to The Paddock, Fulwood, to reports of an assault.

Officers attended and found the victim, Frank Fishwick, aged 86, with facial injuries. He later attended hospital but sadly died on Saturday morning.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be bleeding as a result of fractures to the nose, consistent with being assaulted.

Prior to the assault Mr Fishwick had gone outside to speak to a group of youths who were congregating in a stairway near to his home. During the interaction Mr Fishwick was punched to the face by one of the group who all then ran off.

An investigation was launched and on Sunday a 19-year-old man from Preston was arrested on suspicion of murder.

After consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service the male, Mohammed Al Aaraj, 19, of Sheffield Drive, Preston, has now been charged with manslaughter. He is due to appear at Preston Magistrates' Court today (Tuesday, September 14).

We are continuing to appeal for witnesses and are asking anybody who saw the incident or who has information about it to get in touch with us.

Det Ch Insp Mark Haworth-Oates, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said:

“First and foremost our thoughts remain with Mr Fishwick’s family, who continue to be looked after by specialist officers.

“Our enquiries are very much ongoing and we have now charged a man in relation to this incident. However, we are continuing to ask witnesses to come forward. If you saw the incident or have any information about who was involved and what happened, please let us know. Similarly, if you have any dashcam, CCTV or mobile phone footage showing what happened, please tell us.”

Anybody with information is asked to get in touch on 101, quoting log 879 of September 10th.