Police sealed off part of central Maidstone after a 40-year-old man died moments after being found unconscious in the street.

Ben Sharman was found unresponsive in Peel Street at around 6.20am - just a few steps from his Ragstone Lodge home.

Attempts to resuscitate him were made by paramedics, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Police taped off the area between the junctions with John Street and Granville Road last Friday within 10 minutes of the emergency call being made to allow a team of forensics to investigate.

Officers remained to conduct their inquiries until 4pm when the cordon was lifted.

Grief-stricken partner Mark Dawes, of nearby Salisbury Road, said he was still in shock.

He said: “He was fine last week, and we had so many things to look forward to together this year.

“He was my partner in crime, in the best possible way, I’ll really miss him.”

A car parked near the flats had been covered in tarpaulin, as had the section of pavement alongside it.

A mechanic, who works in Granville Road, said he arrived for work to find the road shut, and had been told by officers not to expect it to reopen quickly.

Staff at businesses inside the cordon were allowed past, but no access was granted to the public.

It is now down to the coroner to determine how Mr Sharman, who would have been 41 next month, died.