A DRUG addict has been found dead in a Teesside flat after turning down hospital treatment for injuries sustained in an apparent assault days before.

Robert Parkin, 29, was found lying on a makeshift bed by a friend at the flat in Shaftsbury Street, Stockton, on Thursday.

Police are treating as suspicious the death of a man they described as a drifter who was well-known in the drug-taking underworld.

Mr Parkin, a homeless man with family in Hartlepool, was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton last weekend with what appeared to be serious injuries from an assault, but he refused treatment and discharged himself.

Police are now quizzing local people, including asylum seekers resident in the Shaftsbury Street area, drug dealers and drug addicts, to piece together his movements stretching back to 9am on Friday, May 3.

It's not known how long his body, which was found on a bed put up in the upstairs floor kitchen, had been lying there before it was discovered by his friend who rented a room in the building.

Detective Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, who is leading the inquiry, today told a press conference that the hunt will centre on his drug-taking associates.

He said: "He was homeless and a drifter but for the last few days had been staying in the Stockton area.

"Because of his lifestyle many people will know him but might not wish to be identified, so we have set up a confidential hotline, which comes straight through to me, on 07771 771314.

"I know a number of people, both male and female, have been staying at that flat in the last few days.

"We are also looking at CCTV footage in Stockton town centre over the last few days, particularly in the Shaftsbury Street area."

A post mortem examination carried out on the body has yet to reveal a cause of death and it's not yet known if he had traces of illegal drugs in his system.

An incident room has been set up at Cleveland Police headquarters in Ladgate Lane, Middlesbrough, and Stockton police can be contacted on (01642) 326326.