Briton axed to death in Zimbabwe

A British lecturer has been axed to death and buried in a shallow grave at his home in Zimbabwe.

Jerzy Toloczko, 51, from Leicester, was attacked outside his home in Ilanda, near Bulawayo, by two men who stole a pair of shoes, a pair of trousers, a shirt, a wallet and a mobile phone.

Police have arrested his gardener and another man, both in their 20s.

Mr Toloczko, known as Jed, was an adventurer, who had spent years in Africa and was well loved by the local community in Zimbabwe, his family said.

The qualified chartered surveyor and lawyer had just returned to Zimbabwe after spending two months with his mother Janina, 79, in Leicester when he was killed.

As he returned home, where he lived alone, two men attacked him as he parked his Mercedes Benz near the garage, police said. They hit him with an axe, wrapped his body in a blanket and buried it in a prepared grave in the yard.

Mr Toloczko's brother, Roman, 49, who lives in Oadby, Leicester, spoke of the family's devastation over his death.

"He was obviously a very dear brother to me but very much an adventurer in all of his professional working life. He always embraced every morsel of local cultures when he lived in different locations," he said.

Mr Toloczko's family had been warned against travelling to Zimbabwe following the death, because of the political situation.

Arrangements are being made by the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, where he worked, to fly his body home.

The Foreign Office is in contact with police in Zimbabwe and plans to keep the family informed.