http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/homepage/Yate-murder-suspect-arrested/article-1578359-detail/article.html
A murder inquiry has been launched after a 65-year-old man was found dead at his home in Yate.
Police revealed yesterday that the man had been discovered at the end-of-terrace house in Prestbury on Thursday afternoon.
A 33-year-old man was later arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and taken for questioning to Staple Hill police station.
Although police have not formally identified the man who died, the Evening Post understands that he was a taxi driver named William Hammond and known as Bill.
Taxi drivers said Mr Hammond worked only from Bristol's central bus station and that the cab driving community was in shock after hearing the tragic news.
Fellow cabbie Ronald Powell, 64, knew Mr Hammond for 40 years.
He said: "He was a very special man – one of a kind. When he spoke to you he was always positive and very upbeat.
"He would never get angry whatever happened and was always trying to encourage people.
"None of us can believe it, we are completely in shock."
Another taxi driver, Thomas Downer, 73, added: "He always worked from the bus station – he never went anywhere else.
"I think that he felt it was quiet here and that there was very little chance of any trouble which you can get in the centre.
"There was never any trouble with Bill, he never had a bad word to say to anyone. He was a very kind man.
"He will be greatly missed. I used to enjoy chatting with him.
"It has been a great shock to the taxi-driver community and everybody who knew him. We miss him already."
Shafiq Ahmed, chairman of Bristol Taxi Club Association, said: "A lot of drivers knew him very well and spoke very highly of him. They said he was a quiet man who would get on with his work. Nobody has had a bad word to say about him.
"I heard the news this morning and have had several drivers get in touch to ask about it.
"As you can imagine there are rumours going around but we know nothing for a fact."
Detectives said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.
According to neighbours, Mr Hammond had lived in the house for many years.
One neighbour who saw a man being led from the scene said she first noticed a police car in the road at about 2.30pm.
She said: "It's usually pretty quiet around here but within about five minutes there were loads of police and police cars outside, as well as paramedics and an ambulance.
"I was trying to go out at the time and when I got into the road to ask if I could leave, the man was coming out of the house with the police. He had what would have been a white shirt on but it was plastered in blood. It was really shocking to see and I had difficulty sleeping. It's awful for that kind of tragedy to happen.
"The police were here all night and I could see photographs were being taken inside the house."
The house is next to Rodford Primary School and close to a footpath used by local residents. Both remained open while the scene was examined.
For much of yesterday there were police officers and crime scene investigators in white suits at the premises. Police and police community support officers also patrolled the residential estate.
The area immediately around the house was taped off, including other houses in the same terrace, and the front door was also covered over.
Officers carried out searches in the front and back garden and on a grassed area between the house, the path and Barnwood Road. Police vans were also parked at the back of the property
Some neighbours had been unaware of the death until yesterday and spoke of their shock at the tragedy.
One man living nearby, who asked not to be named, said he understood Mr Hammond had several sons who lived elsewhere.
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