A Catford student cleared of murder in Greece has spoken in public for the first time about his 16-month prison ordeal - as the prospect of a retrial looms.

Myles Litchmore-Dunbar was arrested in Malia last July after 19-year-old Tyrell Matthews-Burton was fatally stabbed outside a club. 

Mr Litchmore Dunbar, a 20-year-old economics student and model, says he was shot at three times by police, subjected to racial abuse and held as the only Brit in a Greek prison before finally being acquitted of murder last month.

At a public meeting at Catford town hall chaired by Councillor David Michael, Mr Litchmore-Dunbar's lawyer Hilary Brown said police failed to tape off the scene, people present were allowed to return home in blood-stained clothing within 48 hours and there were a litany of failings during the trial.

Ms Brown said: "In my opinion there was no investigation primarily because the victim was black, the alleged perpetrator of this offence was black and therefore there was no real commitment by police authorities to investigate this further and bring whoever was responsible for Tyrell's death to justice."

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And she said: "An appeal has been submitted and we're aware that it's the intention to hold a retrial in Crete but this is something that we don't fear. We'll have another opportunity to unearth evidence that we know is out there."

Reflecting on prison, Mr Litchmore-Dunbar said: "I was subjected to racial slurs continuously and not just from prisoners but from guards, from police, from the judge. It's crazy that I had to go through that and I didn't deserve any of it.

"I went in there as a 19-year-old boy and came out a 20-year-old man."

Father Chris, who, along with the student's mother, had to raise money to fight his son's case told the meeting that visits to the vice-consulate, letters to MPs and the Prime Minister had all had no response, contributing to "16 months of hell".

He said: "When there's a time of need what we found was that there was no one to turn to. The door was shut in our face."

News Shopper: Tyrell Matthews-Burton, 19, was always smiling, according to a friend.

And Mr Litchmore-Dunbar, who plans to return to university, finish a book on his experience and visit schools to tell his story, told the audience a "no snitching" culture meant people aware of who really murdered Tyrell were perfectly happy to see an innocent man go to jail while a killer walked the streets.

And he added: "I want you guys to send your thoughts and prayers out to Tyrell's family because they need to find closure."