A grandfather has died after being mugged in Walsall for thousands of pounds of jewellery bought moments earlier for his daughter’s forthcoming wedding.

Sobat Ali, aged 67, left Laxmi Jewellers in Wednesbury Road, Pleck, with £3,000 worth of necklaces, rings, and other items.

He was set upon by three men and found dead in nearby Hart Street, Caldmore, at 6.30pm yesterday.

The father-of-seven was well-known in the community and known as Sultan.

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A grandfather has died after being mugged in Walsall for thousands of pounds of jewellery bought moments earlier for his daughter’s forthcoming wedding.

Sobat Ali, aged 67, left Laxmi Jewellers in Wednesbury Road, Pleck, with £3,000 worth of necklaces, rings, and other items.

He was set upon by three men and found dead in nearby Hart Street, Caldmore, at 6.30pm yesterday.

The father-of-seven was well-known in the community and known as Sultan.An examination was taking place this afternoon to establish the cause of death of the retired galvaniser.

Grieving son Bashid Khan, aged 38, said: “My father was a kind, decent and well-respected man. He was always going to the mosque and got on with everyone.”

Laxmi director Bobby Verma said he knew Mr Ali well.

Mr Verma said: “He was one of my oldest customers and he had been coming here for years. He was in fine spirits. He bought £3,000 worth of jewellery including necklaces, rings and bangles.

“We heard about the incident at 9.30pm last night but it never occurred to us what had happened.

“If there is anything I can do for family I will,” he added.

Police closed off much of the area including and surrounding Hart Street, which was searched by officers.

Traffic was stopped from passing through, despite calls from drivers who wanted to carry out deliveries.

Shopkeeper Saquib Anwar, of nearby Saqib News, said his customers were in a state of shock.

“People have been coming in all morning and everyone is very upset about it. I think mostly people just want to know what happened.”

Police said they were treating the death as suspicious.

By Lyndsey Hunt