A FRIEND of murdered Bolton man Sebastian Zuchlinski is raising cash to pay for his body to be flown back to Poland.

Beata Rogala, aged 19, has set up a fundraising page and is appealing for help to raise £2,000 so Mr Zuchlinski's body can be returned home to north Poland for burial.

Mr Zuchlinski, who was aged 39, was set upon by a masked gang brandishing machetes in Davenport Street, just outside Bolton town centre, on Saturday night. His injuries were so bad that paramedics were unable to save him.

Miss Rogala, who moved to England 10 years ago from Radlow, had known Mr Zuchlinski for four years and said she is devastated at his death.

She has set up an online just giving page with a £2,000 target of which £1,200 will be used to fly Mr Zuchlinski’s body home – the rest will go towards funeral costs.

Miss Rogala, who lives Halliwell, said: “Sebastian was a very good guy. He never did anything to hurt anyone or upset anyone. I am still in shock. If we raise more money than we need it will be given to Sebastian's mother as we want to support her as much as we can.

"Sebastian has been sending money over to his mother quite often, as all of us know it's not easy living in Poland. No-one really wants to get their head around what happened because we don’t want to believe it. We can’t really describe how we are feeling – sad, gutted, shocked. I just want to be able to help as much as I can."

Mr Zuchlinski, who moved to Britain ten years ago, had been at his partner Ewa Bubrowska's house in Vernon Street before the attack. It is understood he also had three children with his ex-wife and that when he moved to Bolton he left most of his family in Poland.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and was bailed pending further enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Howard Millington of the Greater Manchester Police Major Incident Team said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family of this man during what must be such a terrible time for them.

"Our investigation is continuing and we have got a number of lines of enquiries that we are following however I would like to urge anybody with information, no matter how big or small, to please contact police. Any information you have may prove vital to this investigation."

Anybody with information should contact police on 0161 856 9775 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

To donate to Miss Rogala's campaign, go to: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/beata-rogala