Watch video of the Ian Tomlinson assault

The protesters around the Bank of England remembered a dazed man in a Millwall shirt. His friends on Fish Street Hill remember Ian Tomlinson as a quiet, friendly fellow who just liked to sit and have a chat.

At 47, Mr Tomlinson had long had a drink problem and, after splitting from his wife, had spent some time among London's homeless.

But he had got a room at a hostel near Smithfields Market and in recent years spent his days helping out a friend who sold newspapers on Fish Street Hill, by Monument Tube station. His life appears to have been relatively settled and happy.

Unfortunately Mr Tomlinson's normal route home took him up King William Street and straight past the Bank of England, where last Wednesday night thousands of anti-capitalist protesters were demonstrating against the next day's G20 summit.

It appears that Mr Tomlinson was diverted by police, who had "corralled" hundreds of protesters into a pen around the Bank, and found himself a block further north on Cornhill, caught up in another part of the demonstration. A video obtained by The Guardian shows the moment when he was struck by a baton-wielding officer in a nearby alley.

He died a few minutes later and a police post-mortem the following day suggested that he had suffered a heart attack.

Mr Tomlinson's friends on the street where he worked remembered a quiet chap who would sit and chat with a can of beer in his hand. 'He was a gentleman and he never hurt anyone," said one colleague. "He was a really nice fella who just minded his own business."

"He was King of the Hill – King of Fish Street Hill." That is my tribute to him," another added.

Barry Smith, 55, an Evening Standard vendor who had known Mr Tomlinson for 26 years, said he helped out on the stall every day, starting at 7am.

Speaking through tears, Mr Smith told the newspaper: "Ian was always there with me, from the minute I started work until the end of the day. He had a drink problem but that day he was completely sober and was looking forward to starting work again the next day.

"At 7pm, I had run out of papers so I told him to go home. His last words to me were 'See you tomorrow Barry, if I'm still living and breathing'. It tears me apart thinking about that now."

The Standard reported today that Mr Tomlinson had briefly been an official vendor himself six years ago, but then started helping out other sellers around Monument Station.

"I would normally close the stall around 8pm every night but that night, we had sold all the papers by 7pm so I sent him home earlier than usual," Mr Smith said. "I keep thinking, if only I'd had another bundle, he would still be alive today."

The Standard reported that Mr Tomlinson was a father of nine. He grew up in Matlock, Derbyshire, but moved to London at the age of 17.

"Although Ian had his health issues, he had never had a heart attack before," Mr Smith said. "He used to be as fit as a fiddle and even ran a half marathon a few years ago. I think the shock of being hit like that brought on his heart attack.

"I loved him to bits. When I see that footage of him being pushed so aggressively, it really hurts. I hate the man that did that to him."

Mr Tomlinson's son, Paul King, 26, said that his family wanted the police to explain why they acted as they did. “We want answers: why?" said Mr King.

“Ian clearly had his arms in his pockets and back towards the police. There is no need for them to step in towards him."

The video confirmed their fears that Mr Tomlinson had been struck by the police, he added. “Now we can say, yes he did. Up until now it has been ’if’. But now we’ve seen it, we want answers.”

It is believed that Mr Lindsay had been staying at the Lindsey Hotel in Farringdon, Central London, since October.

A woman who works there, who gave her name only as Isaura, said Mr Tomlinson would be sadly missed.

She said: “He was a lovely man and we will miss him. I am very sad and my thoughts are with his family.”

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