A BUNCH of flowers was yesterday sitting on the counter of Ladbrokes in St James's Street to honour the memory of the elderly man who was killed in a hit-and-run on Tuesday night.

The keen gambler, 78, known to his friends in the bookies as Hungarian John, was well-liked by those who knew him well.

Fellow gambler Curtis Lambert explained: “He played at being the grumpy old man, but he wasn’t.

“He was harmless. He did favours for people and stuff, and he would always say ‘hi’ or whatever. He came in here literally every day, he was always here whenever I came in.”

Another friend, John - whose mother Keary left the flowers on the counter at Ladbrokes - explained: “He was a lovely man, it’s so sad. Just look at the road there where he met his fate.”

A large blue forensic tent set up in the middle of Old Steine at the scene of the crash before it was removed yesterday afternoon.

“He was Hungarian, but he’d been living over here a long time, I think he used to live in Soho,” John added.

Sussex Police have not released details of the man’s full name, and have said that next of kin have not yet been notified. The Argus understands that the victim has a son who lives in London.

The manager of Pret a Manger, Dorota Jezior, cried when she heard that one of her regulars had been involved in such a tragic crash.

She told The Argus: “He used to come in here all the time, he was our friend.

“He was telling me the other day that he has a girlfriend down here, with a little glint in his eye, but I don’t know if he was teasing me.

“He was a really friendly guy, we would laugh and smile at each other. He loved coming in here and he’d even watch my staff for me and let me know if something was happening.

“If you first met him you wouldn’t necessarily like him, he wouldn’t start talking straight away, that’s not what he was like.

“But if you got to know him he was lovely, very friendly. I’m so sad to learn he’s gone, he was only in here yesterday or the day before in his trilby hat.”

His friend Anthony Lawrence said: “I feel so horrible, I was so sad this morning when I heard, I knew him very well.

“He could be a grumpy old chap, but in a nice way, if you understand me. He was harmless, he never had a bad attitude.

“Before he retired he worked at The Mermaid in Western Road, the fish and chip place, and people used to come in just to talk to him, about the races or whatever. People used to go in just to see him, and you don’t usually get a fish and chip place that’s so social like that.”

One fellow gambler who preferred not to give his name said: “He didn’t win very often but whenever he did he’d hold his slip up and shout ‘I won, I won, that was 16-1!’

“It’s so sad to think he won’t be in here again.”