DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a Polish labourer are making a direct appeal for help to church members.

They will be handing out leaflets to the congregation of a Roman Catholic Church asking for information about the murder of Wieslaw Filus.

The 45-year-old Polish national was found dead in the bedroom of his bedsit in Denzil Avenue, Southampton, on the morning of Saturday July 18.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died following a blow to the head sparking. A murder inquiry dubbed Operation Hopscotch was launched involving 25 detectives .

They believe Mr Filus was assaulted shortly before his death and died from his injuries. He left his flat at around 7pm on the Friday evening returned home in the early hours of Saturday.

Detectives want to find out where he went and who he was with.

They think someone in the Polish community in the city is likely to know and officers will appeal to many of them this weekend at the Polish service held at St Edmund’s Church in The Avenue, Southampton, at 7pm each Saturday.

Detective chief inspector Colin Matthews said: “The service is one of the largest regular meetings of the city’s Polish community and we need their assistance.

“The Rev Mariusz Urbanowski the Polish priest who takes the service has kindly agreed to also address his congregation to make the appeal to them directly – we are very thankful for his help and that of the Polish community so far.”

“However we really need people to come forward with whatever information they may have about where and what Mr Filus did that night.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who actually knew Mr Filus either here or in Poland, as this could help us too”.

Leaflets in Polish and English will be handed out by officers after the service. They have also released a photograph of the distinctive baseball cap which Mr Filus was often seen wearing. They believe he was wearing it on the evening before his death.

Anyone with information is asked to call the major crime department at Hulse Road on 0845 045 4545 or alternatively people can call Crimestoppers, the charity, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Five men arrested in connection with the murder inquiry have been released on bail until September 2, pending further inquiries.