A man was found stabbed to death at the rear of Charles Cryer Theatre, police said today.

Police were called to the rear of the theatre on Carshalton High Street at 10.20pm on last night after reports of a male suffering from stab wounds.

Paramedics attempted to treat the man but a police spokesman said he later died at St George’s Hospital.

A spokesman said: "We are treating it as unexplained at the moment.

"There will be a post mortem later.”

Two people have been arrested in connection with the dead man.

A barmaid at the Coach and Horses on Carshalton High Street said reports of a murder had been circulating in the village since the morning.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “There have been dozens of police cars and officers outside of the Charles Cryer Theatre this morning and there was blue and white tape up around the building.

“The road was cordoned off from about 9am. People have been saying there was a murder. There's lots of rumours flying around.”

A black car was also spotted crashed and abandoned in Beddington Park just a few hundred yards from the scene of the death.

It is unknown at this stage if the two incidents are linked.

Friends of Beddington Park member Dee Hyatt said she saw the black car in a ditch in the park earlier in the morning.

She said: "There were some police officers there inspecting it.

"It looked like it had crashed into the ditch in the middle of the night.”

A member of staff at Village Bakers said that in the morning a customer had told staff she had seen a man weilding a knife around in the neighbourhood.

She said: "Apparently he was waving around a knife and damaging the cars, stabbing them or something.

"She had no idea if that was the person that ended up dead or not.

"She said she didn't tell police at the time because she didn't know anything of the murder, but then the police came knocking on her door.

"People are not that shocked here, it seems to be just one of those things."

Resident Janette Reynolds, who lives nearby, said: "I'm totally shocked.

"There's never been anything like this round here before. Poor man.

"I've lived here for years and years. I hope it's nobody I know. It's a horrible thing to happen."

Councillor Paul Scully, who represents the Carshalton ward where the crime took place, said: "It is always shocking to hear of crimes like this, but it is especially disturbing when it happens in your local area.

"My thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim, and I wish the police speedy success in their investigation."

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