A RESPECTED jazz musician murdered outside his Hampshire home had waged a one-man crusade against nuisance youths, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Tim Colwell had compiled dossiers of information about young vandals and sent them to police and councillors.

He had even confided to one friend that his life had been threatened because of his campaigning.

Police found Mr Colwell lying critically injured outside his New Forest apartment block just before 9.30pm on Thursday, as reported in later editions of yesterday's Daily Echo.

He was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he died shortly after arrival. He lived alone in Howards Mead, Pennington, Lymington.

Four youths have been arrested and are helping police with their inquiries.

According to a New Forest district councillor who knew Mr Colwell, the musician had been warned that his life was at risk because of his campaigning against youth nuisance.

Paul Hickman said: "He sent me several e-mails saying a man was out to murder him. I advised him to lie low or he would get into trouble.

"Only a couple of weeks ago he had his windows broken, and he has been attacked before.

"Youngsters behaving badly were like a red rag to a bull to Tim, and he was impatient when problems were not resolved by the police and local authority.

"This has been a great shock. Pennington will be a less safe place because of Tim's loss."

Mr Colwell had dedicated more and more time to fighting against youth nuisance in recent years as his ill health made him cut down on music gigs.

Neighbours say he made enemies by taking photographs of alleged teenage troublemakers and regularly lobbying police and councillors to take action against them. He contributed by e-mail to the BBC's national crime debate in February this year, saying : "All five of the very worst hooligans in our village are on patrol day and night.

"New Forest District Council has done nothing to punish the parents of children who break tenancy agreements by their vandalism and harassment of other tenants. Police will not issue anti-social behaviour orders because they cost too much and are ineffective."

Hampshire's jazz community were today stunned by saxophonist Mr Colwell's killing.

Close friend Gary Leport, 58, played his guitar alongside Mr Colwell in the Jazz Two duo.

He said: "He started so many people off and he helped so many along the way.

"Jazz is something that is born in you and it was born in Tim. There was very little he didn't know about jazz music and he could make a cheap instrument sound wonderful and he had a wonderful knack of playing.

"He was known by some of the biggest names in jazz and a lot of the very top musicians are going to be very upset about this."