A 35-year-old man has died and his father treated in hospital after they were found unconscious in a public toilet.

The son and his 55-year-old father were discovered in the toilet beside the River Medway close to Fairmeadow, in Maidstone, at about 6pm on Wednesday .

The son later died at Maidstone Hospital, possibly from a drug overdose, while the father was treated overnight and released on Thursday.

Kent Police have not yet revealed the identities of either man.

Both were regular clients of the Maidstone Day Centre for homeless people in Knightrider Street. Charity workers there said that society had failed them.

Welfare workers at the centre said the men had a normal family upbringing in Borough Green and were well known in the village.

But they became caught in a “vicious cycle” of homelessness, drug abuse and petty crime.

Maggie Leggat, who is responsible for client welfare at the centre, said: "They were always very polite when they were at the day centre. The issues are drug use and homelessness.

"They have come out of prison with nowhere to go except the streets, and they go back into a vicious cycle of drink and drugs. Society has failed them.”

Police investigations are continuing into the circumstances of the incident. A post mortem examination is being held.

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