Appeal over teacher Thai attack which led to death

A murder investigation into the death of a British teacher who died nine years after being attacked in Thailand has been featured on TV in an effort to jog people's memories.

Detectives hope that their investigation into the death of Adam Pickles, who was seriously injured in 2012, will be helped by the coverage on BBC Crimewatch Live.

Mr Pickles, from Leeds, was 48 when he died in January 2021. A Home Office pathologist concluded his death was linked to the injuries he sustained when he was attacked with a heavy metal object in the South East Asian city of Pattaya

Mr Pickles's mother Adele told the programme: "Adam still lives on in our hearts."

Mr Pickles had been in the Starlight Bar in the Nong Prue district of Pattaya on the night of the attack, said Det Ch Insp Damian Roebuck from West Yorkshire Police.

He left the bar just before 23:00 local time and set off in his car, an orange Cherry Sudan, when he clipped another vehicle.

Someone is then said to have shouted towards Mr Pickles but he either did not hear or see them and drove off.

Det Ch Insp Roebuck said the suspect chased Mr Pickles for more than a mile, forcing him to stop before dragging him from his car and assaulting him.

Mr Pickles was left severely disabled following the attack and was cared for by his family in Leeds until his death nearly a decade later.

A man was jailed in Thailand for six years in 2015 after being convicted of assault.

Ms Pickles said: "It just seems to me such a waste of life for the sake of a scratch on a car."

She said her son, who worked as an English teacher at an international school, was "a caring young man" with many friends.

He had been in the process of applying for a visa to bring his family, including his young son, back to the UK to live when the attack took place.

Det Ch Insp Roebuck said police were keen to hear from anyone with information about the attack, including anyone who was in Thailand at the time.

He said they were told by witnesses that the suspect, who was driving a 4x4 vehicle, possibly a Toyota Fortuna, returned to the Starlight Bar afterwards.

Police said they believed the suspect to be a British national who may well have returned to the UK.

"We believe Adam's attacker will have confided in someone who was living there at the time about what happened, and we need that person, or those people, to come forward and tell us what they know," said Det Ch Insp Roebuck.

"Adam suffered traumatic brain injuries in this attack. The injuries he suffered were so severe that he required round-the-clock care for the rest of his life."

The episode of Crimewatch Live is available to watch in BBCiPlayer.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.