Neighbours have paid tribute to Jamie Thomson after a man died after coming into contact with chemicals in Mitcham.

A 36-year-old man was taken from Carshalton Road to a south London hospital in a critical condition at about 3.45am yesterday.

From yesterday: Man dead after "coming into contact with chemicals" at Carshalton Road home in Mitcham

He died in hospital just after 7am.

Neighbours Sheila and Paul Meehan, who live just three houses down from where the tragic events unfolded, expressed their shock at what had happened.

From yesterday: UPDATED: Man, 36, in critical condition after 'exposure to chemicals' in Mitcham

Mrs Meehan said: "I saw all the police and ambulances, and thought something terrible must have happened.

"There are three brothers in that family, and one of them isn’t well. He hasn’t been well for a while. He kept himself to himself. If you saw him he would say hi, but he was just a quiet boy. He never caused any problems for anyone.

"We are really close to each other here. We know each other well. This has come as a real shock."

Mr Meehan added: "It’s very distressing. We saw several ambulances and police officers, lots of them.

"We had no idea what was going on. There were people wearing masks going into the house."

A police spokesman, who refused to confirm the identity of the man, said the death was being treated as unexplained.

Enquiries are continuing into what happened, but the spokesman said there was no evidence to suggest it was linked to terrorism or extremism and they were not looking for anyone else in connection with it.

The spokesman added they were not aware of anybody else injured or taken ill. Another neighbour, Ben Halabi, said: "Nearly a year ago the same thing happened. Police were everywhere. I don’t know what happened this time.

"I have known the family for about thirty years, since he was a little boy. He used to play with my daughter.

"It’s a terrible thing to happen."

The emergency services closed Carshalton Road at the junction with Goat Road for several hours on Monday morning, and buses were diverted. It has since re-opened.