Flowers, candles and a teddy have been laid at a shopping centre in memory of a "friendly and kind" homeless man.

The tributes have been left outside Greggs in Park Mall, Ashford, where a man known to most as Peter was often spotted.

It is understood he was a Polish national called Piotr and was in his late 30s, but no details have been released about the circumstances of his death.

Ashford Borough Council says he first came to the authority's attention in 2020 but regularly declined offers of help.

Mahesh Joshi, the owner of Ashford News in County Square, says Piotr sat outside his shop almost every morning.

"He was a good man, a kind person," he said.

"I used to see him every morning about 7.30am.

"He used to sit on the bench, and then when I opened the shop, I used to offer him a drink."

A few doors down, Peter Fry, who runs jewellers A. Simmonds, says staff will miss his presence in County Square.

"He always used to smile and appeared to be a friendly man," said Mr Fry.

"He kept to himself; that's obviously how he liked it.

"In the winter, this was where he kept himself warm.

"It was like he was our guardian, always keeping an eye on us."

Piotr was regularly seen walking around the County Square, so his recent absence sparked concern.

A spokesman for the shopping centre said they learned of his death after making enquiries with authorities.

“The County Square team were obviously very sorry to hear of the passing of Peter," he said.

"He was a regular visitor to the centre and was always a pleasant man who kept himself to himself.

"We noticed he hadn’t been in for a while and made enquiries with the authorities as to his welfare.

"We were very sad to learn he had passed away and hope he rests in peace.”

Tributes first appeared to Piotr over the Christmas period.

A spokesman for ABC offered sympathies to everyone who knew him.

They added: “Piotr first became known to us in 2020 and since then we have engaged with him on a number of occasions but each time he has declined any offer of help and assistance.”