Three may help solve cell mystery

Mr Reynolds was arrested during a taxi journey after the party

Police investigating what happened to a man who became seriously ill in police custody are trying to trace three people who may be able to help.

The two women and a man were in Eastern Road, Brighton in the early hours of Mother's Day, 2 March, just before Garry Reynolds, 39, was arrested.

Mr Reynolds was found seriously ill in a police cell shortly after 1100 GMT.

He was taken to hospital, where his condition is said to be stable but he remains critically ill and in a coma.

Sussex Police are investigating what happened to Mr Reynolds, from Southwick, in the period up to 0235 GMT, when he was arrested in West Street.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating what happened after he came into contact with police.

Mr Reynolds spent the Saturday evening at a private party at the Rock public house in Rock Street, Kemp Town.

At about midnight, he is thought to have left the party, walking towards Chesham Road and was picked up by a taxi driver in Eastern Road.

At about 0235 GMT, the taxi driver stopped in West Street to ask for assistance from police and Mr Reynolds was arrested and taken to Brighton Custody Centre.

We are trying to establish the truth of what happened to Garry Reynolds Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles

Sussex Major Crime Branch said it had been unable to trace the three possible witnesses.

One was a young woman passenger who got out of a taxi outside Sussex Mansions in Eastern Road.

She was white, in her early 20s and with fair hair. She was smartly dressed, in a light coloured jacket and carrying a satchel bag.

She had a distinctive accent which was not local, and told the taxi driver she had been in London during the evening.

The two other witnesses, a man and a woman, were walking on the south side of Eastern Road, with the man closest to the kerb.

He is described as middle aged, and wearing a light coloured coat. The couple were similar in height.

"Despite exhaustive efforts we have failed to trace the lady who had taken the taxi from Brighton Station to Sussex Mansions," said Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles.

"As for the couple in Eastern Road, I would also like to speak to them as witnesses.

"We are trying to establish the truth of what happened to Garry Reynolds and I believe these three witnesses can help us build that picture."