A BOY aged 15 has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a South Yorkshire man was punched to the ground for refusing to hand over a cigarette.
Jonathan Simon Harper, aged 47, suffered severe head injuries and died after being hit by a passing car on Nursery Road in North Anston on Friday night.
He was on his way home from the Little Mester pub on Nursery Road at 9.30pm when he ran into a gang of four youths.
Locals say the boys, aged 14 to 16, demanded a cigarette and trouble flared when he said they were too young to smoke.
It is understood they followed him for a short distance before one punched him in the face as he stood at the kerb.
He fell into the road just as a green Rover was passing. The driver swerved but was unable to avoid him.
You can leave a tribute to Jonathan in our book of condolence, click hereA Nursery Road resident said he heard the impact and ran out to see Mr Harper lying in the road with a severe head injury. A nurse stopped her car and tried to resuscitate him before an ambulance arrived.
A police spokesman said a 15-year-old local boy was arrested yesterday
morning on suspicion of murder.
He was still being quizzed at Moss Way police station this morning.
The incident comes a week after dad-of-four Craig Wass died after being attacked when he asked a group of youths to keep the noise down in Loxley.
Mr Harper lived with his widowed 81-year-old mother Ida on a quiet cul-de-sac in Dinnington. He was single and had no children.
She said: "He was a kind and gentle son and our family has lost a remarkable, irreplaceable person."
READ MORE: Final minutes of victim attacked on way homeFriends said he was a gentle soul and a reserved and private man.
His death has stunned the quiet village which traditionally enjoys low levels of crime.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said: "The community is deeply saddened. He was the last person you would expect to attract any trouble or face it head on. He's the sort of guy who wouldn't hurt a fly."
Tree-lined Nursery Road has semi-detached homes well set back on one side and Dinnington Park on the other. It was sealed off by police conducting forensic tests until Saturday.
A police spokesman said detectives from Moss Way had launched a murder investigation after witnesses reported that Mr Harper was knocked to the ground in a confrontation with a small group of youths just before the collision.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "The man who died, a 47-year-old from Dinnington, suffered fatal injuries after a collision with a car.
"Detectives are investigating reports of a confrontation with a small group of youths prior to the collision as part of the on-going investigation."
Police are appealing for witnesses, call 0114 220 2020.
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