A missing man's body may have lay on an infirmary roof for three days after he disappeared from a ward at a 24-hour A&E hospital.

The man, in his 20s, was reported missing from the St George’s Hospital ward in Tooting 72 hours before he was found on the roof by a maintenance worker.

During routine work at 7.45am on August 1, the member of staff found the man and police were called.

A post-mortem examination showed he died of injuries “consistent with a fall”, police say.

Police say they are not treating the death as suspicious and his next of kin were informed.

A spokesman for the force said: "Police were called at 7.45am on Tuesday, August 1 to St George's Hospital grounds in Tooting following reports of a man, aged in his 20s, found deceased.

"A post mortem has been carried out and gave cause of death as multiple injuries consistent with a fall. Next of kin have been informed.

"The death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be compiled for the coroner."

At this stage in the investigation it is not yet known how the man got onto the roof.

The hospital, which is where Channel 4 documentary 24 Hours in A&E is filmed, has launched an investigation into the death.

A spokesman for St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "We can confirm that police were called to St George’s Hospital (Tooting) on Tuesday, 1 August after a man was found deceased on hospital grounds.

"The man was a hospital patient, who went missing from the ward, at which point we contacted the police.

"He was later found deceased by a routine maintenance worker. Police were then contacted, who attended the scene.

"We are carrying out an investigation, so are unable to comment further at this stage."

The NHS trust was rated inadequate following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2016 and ordered to improve in areas of the building where there water leaks near electrical cables.

The watchdog ordered the trust to move patients from areas were there safety concerns and supported demolishing some of the problematic buildings.

In May 2017, the trust had a further inspection and was found to have made “significant improvements”, but the CQC noted that further work was still required.

A spokesman for the trust says there is no evidence of link between the hospitals "estate challenges" and the man's death.