Police investigating the circumstances around a collision in Rainham, in which a man sadly died, are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

The incident happened at around 19:45hrs on Thursday, 2 October at the A1306 junction with Launders Lane and involved a single vehicle, a blue 2008 Peugeot 207.

Officers attended and carried out a thorough search of the area including using specialist dogs and the police helicopter.

No one was found and the vehicle was recovered while enquiries continued.

On Saturday, 18 October, the body of a man was recovered from Launders Lane, during proactive searches by Met officers. This followed contact from Essex Police on Friday, 16 October about a missing person.

The man was identified as Garry Peterson, aged 47 from the Canvey Island area, who had been involved in the collision.

Detective Constable Fayyadh Alwi, from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Chadwell Heath, said: “Officers are providing support to Mr Peterson’s family and our thoughts remain with them.

“Our investigation has continued into the circumstances of the collision but we are keen to hear from anyone who may have information or saw what happened, including if they have any dashcam footage.

“Please come forward if you can help.”

Anyone who can help is asked to call 101, quoting reference 7538/2Oct25. You can also submit details via the Met Police online reporting portal at https://www.met.police.uk/report.