man found dead after 'brutal attack by six men in east London high street'

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
 
 Pic:edgaras kondrotas who murderd in east London

A young man who left his impoverished homeland to build a better life in London was found dead in his bed the day after being attacked on a busy high street.
Edgaras Kondrotas, 28, left Lithuania for the capital eight years ago and had recently told his family he was planning to marry his long-term girlfriend and start a family.
He was found dead at his home in Forest Gate on Tuesday afternoon.
Detectives believe he died from injuries sustained when he was beaten by a group of up to six men in Leyton High Road the previous evening.
Eli Norvilas, 24, a cousin who grew up with Mr Kondrotas in Klaipeda on the Baltic coast before moving to the USA, said his close-knit family were desperate for answers.

He told the Standard: “We just want to know what happened. Without that all we can do is fantasise and be driven crazy.”
He said: “Ergaras came to London because he wanted to make a better life for himself.

“He told family back home he wanted to start a family. From what I heard he wanted to marry his girlfriend and have kids. His life was stopped way too early.”
He said he had last seen Mr Kondrotas six years ago on his 18th birthday, when the family all flew back to eastern Europe.
He said: “It’s just sad, especially the past couple of years I didn’t stay in touch with him as much as I’d like to.
“We were living our own lives, through Facebook he looked happy in his photographs. I wish I’d not taken it for granted.”
Police believe Mr Kondrotas was assaulted at 11.30pm on Monday and travelled home by public transport back to a house in Forest Gate, around a mile away.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the abdomen.


Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and were today being questioned by police.
Detective Inspector John Marriott, who is leading the investigation into Edgaras' death, said: "I am appealing for any witnesses who may have seen a group of men who were involved in a disturbance in Leyton High Road, at about11.30pm on Monday, January 11.
"I believe that Edgaras was assaulted during this altercation and then travelled back to an address in Sebert Road, where he was found dead.
"If you saw the incident in Leyton High Road or have information about what sparked the altercation, or know who may have been part of that group of six men then please call the incident room."

**** any information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 020 83453985, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.****

starting families putting Londoners in 20s off

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners in their twenties are being put off starting a family because of soaring house prices, an exclusive survey reveals today.
The poll found 42 per cent of this 1.4 million-strong age group say that if the cost of homes stays at current levels or rises they will be less likely to raise children here. It also revealed four in five Londoners aged 20-29 have considered quitting the capital because of sky-high housing costs.
The findings sparked a warning by business leaders that “generation rent” may become “generation went” if property prices and rents rise further.
Young women especially seem more likely than men to delay having children because of spiralling house prices and budget-busting rents. A total of 46 per cent of women in their twenties said they were less likely to raise a family in London due to housing costs.

The survey by Opinium Research was commissioned by the business group London First for the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign. It is calling on the next Mayor of London, almost certainly Zac Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan, to ensure 50,000 new homes are being built each year in the capital by 2020.
Will Higham, director of the campaign — backed by a coalition of city businesses — said: “Young Londoners at the start of their careers are telling the next mayor very clearly what needs fixing.
“London’s housing supply is simply not keeping up with our growing population as a city and they are feeling the pinch — paying the cost through high rents, not getting on the property ladder and even making trade-offs about when to start a family.”

Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive of London First, said: “London business depends on talented people making a career here. If some can’t we all lose out. This is unfair on the young but is going to end up hurting us all if generation rent becomes generation went.”
She stressed that the housing crisis was now a “boardroom issue” as a growing number of firms face difficulties getting the employees they need.
The poll also found 36 per cent of Londoners in their twenties say the jump in house prices made them more likely to decide to raise a family in the city. More than half of this group either already own their property outright or had a mortgage on it, the poll indicated — highlighting the city’s wealth divide.
A total of 81 per cent of Londoners in their twenties have considered quitting the capital because of housing costs, according to the poll. It found 30 per cent of this age group had seriously considered moving away and plan to do so to enjoy lower housing costs.
Opinium Research interviewed 520 Londoners in their twenties between January 7 and 14