A 'funny' and 'caring' Oldham man who died after he was found on a street 'covered in blood' has been named as Wayne Hopwood.
Police were called to the scene outside Mevagissey Walk in the Greenacres area of Oldham at around 4.20am on Thursday January 12, where Hopwood was found with serious injuries. Officers say he was covered in blood on his hands, face and on his bare feet, and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Hopwood tragically died on Saturday January 14. A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, but has since been bailed.
READ MORE: Man dies after being found covered in blood on street
Friends and family have taken to social media to pay tribute to Hopwood, who one friend wrote was nicknamed 'Hoppy'. Posting on Facebook, she called Hopwood a 'top guy'.
"We all know Hoppy was a top guy, harmless. Rip Wayne Hopwood," the post read. She also appealed for anyone with more information to come forwards.
"Rest in peace Wayne Hopwood. You truly were a legend - such a character, funny, loving and caring - sadly be missed by so many people. My condolences to all your family," another wrote.
Detectives previously said they are not certain any crimes were carried out, they 'cannot rule it out'. They believe Hopwood may have been drinking in local pubs earlier on January 12, but said his movements leading up to his death were 'unclear'.
Anyone who has any information or CCTV footage, or anyone who saw the victim that day, is being urged to get in touch with Greater Manchester Police. Detective Chief Inspector Benjamin Cottam of GMP’s Oldham said: "Firstly, our thoughts are with the victim’s family of what I know will be a difficult time.
"Our specialist officers are currently supporting the victim’s family and we are ensuring we exhaust every possible line of enquiry to understand what happened that evening. Whilst we are not certain there is any form of criminality in this case, we cannot rule this out.
"We are looking at every possible scenario that could have taken place that evening and we need your help to piece together a chain of events. We need members of the public to come forward with any CCTV, dash cam footage from that area that evening, if you saw anything suspicious, witnessed any form of assault or have any information no matter how small it may seem, it could have a huge impact on our investigations.
"If you have any information at all, please call 101 or submit information on our website www.gmp.police.uk quoting log 343 of 12/01/2023. Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
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