A 78-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar was stabbed to death has been bailed.

The man, named locally as Richard Osborn-Brooks, found two intruders in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, south-east London, early on Wednesday.

A 37-year-old man, armed with a screwdriver, forced the homeowner into his kitchen where a struggle ensued and the suspect was stabbed, the Met said.

Mr Osborn-Brooks has been bailed until May pending further inquiries.

Police said they were called to the property over reports of a burglary when they found the man collapsed in nearby Further Green Road with a stab wound to the upper body. The second suspect fled the scene and has yet to be found.

Det Ch Insp Simon Harding appealed for anyone with information regarding the second subject – who is believed to be a white male and fled the scene in a white van – to come forward. “He may have told someone what happened at the address,” he added.

One man who lives on the street said there had been a recent spate of burglaries in the area and his home had been broken into in recent months.

Adam Lake, another local resident, said he “wasn’t surprised” to hear about the burglary. “I feel terrible for the man that was burgled. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for defending himself,” he said.

A neighbour of Mr Osborn-Brooks, who asked not to be named, supported his right to defend the neighbourhood. She said: “[I’ve heard] he’s a carer, this is a pensioner that has worked all his life who wants to live and die quietly.”

On Thursday, a woman left a bunch of flowers at the police cordon on Further Green Road, yards from where the suspected intruder fell.

A courier also arrived at the police cordon on South Park Crescent with some flowers addressed to Mr Osborn-Brooks’s home.