Ricky, aged 20, had been out drinking with friends on Tuesday, 14 October 1997. Sadly, his body was found in the River Thames seven days later.

The Met’s inquiry has been extensive with numerous investigations and reviews. Officers have taken hundreds of statements from witnesses and people with information as well as conducting many media and local leaflet appeals as part of their significant efforts to piece together the circumstances around Ricky’s death.

Commander Catherine Roper, Specialist Crime, said: “It has been 25 years since Ricky died. My thoughts are with Ricky’s family and the pain they must still feel today.

“I hope that this appeal will encourage people to come forward with any piece of information they may have, however small they think it is, to help us piece together what happened that night in Kingston.

“We remain hopeful that we can provide answers for the family, and we need the help of the public to achieve this.’

Ricky and three friends had been planning an evening in a local nightclub. As they walked through the town centre in Kingston, two white men, aged between 18 and 30, saw Ricky and his friends and shouted racial abuse.

There was an altercation between Ricky’s friends and the men – Ricky did not get involved and he walked away on his own and disappeared.

Tragically, his body was found in the Thames at the end of Downhall Road on Tuesday, 21 October 1997.

An inquest in 1999 into Ricky’s death returned an open verdict. No arrests have been made, or charges brought in connection with Ricky’s death.

Detectives would urge anyone with information to contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 .