DETECTIVES have renewed an appeal to help piece together the last movements of a drug addict found dead in suspicious circumstances.

The body of Robert Parkin, 29, who was known as Swampy, was discovered lying on a makeshift bed in the kitchen of a top-floor flat in Shaftesbury Street, Stockton, on Thursday afternoon.

The drug user, who was known to police, had suffered injuries consistent with an assault and refused hospital treatment for them days before his body was found.

Detective Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, who is leading the inquiry, said Mr Parkin had been involved in the drug scene for several years, and had become estranged from his family.

He said: "Few of his associates would have known what his proper name was. He was a drifter and homeless, and in the circle he moved in he was simply known as Swampy.

"It is a distinctive and unusual name. However, he is not to be confused with the environmental campaigner who hit the headlines some years ago."

A team of 20 uniformed and plain-clothed officers have been checking hours of closed-circuit television tapes from the immediate area while forensic experts have been combing the flat for clues to his death.

Detectives want to speak to anyone, including those in the drug-taking underworld, who might know what happened.

Det Supt Braithwaite said: "I appreciate that because of his lifestyle many people who know him might not wish to contact police direct and be identified. So I have set a confidential hotline, direct to me, on 07771 771314."

Anyone with information about Mr Parkin's movements over the week before his death can also contact the police incident room, at Cleveland Police headquarters, Ladgate Lane, Middlesbrough, on (01642) 302389 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.