Father stabbed to death near home

Published on Sunday 9 September 2007 00:40

THE family of a father-of-two found with a fatal stab wound outside his home spoke yesterday of their "devastation".

Three men were being questioned yesterday in connection with the murder of 36-year-old Christopher Deakin, as police combed an area of land nearby for clues.

Deakin, father of sons aged nine and 10, was discovered injured in Longley Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, on Friday morning. He died later in hospital. A postmortem revealed he had died of blood loss following a stab wound to the leg.

Four suspects aged 18, 29, 42 and 44 were detained a short time later. Detectives have been granted an extension until this evening to interview three of the men - the 44-year-old was released yesterday "without any further action", police said.

In a statement released via Staffordshire Police, Deakin's family said: "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the terrible news of our treasured son and brother's tragic and unexpected death. He leaves behind a devastated family, including two young sons to whom he was a caring and devoted father."

House-to-house inquiries and a forensic examination of the scene continued yesterday. Specialist search officers were deployed to look at an area of overgrown land off Longley Road.

It is understood Deakin lived alone in a council-owned flat.

People living in Longley Road spoke of their shock yesterday, but talked of a growing drug problem in the area.

Resident Margaret Crompton, 68, told the Stoke Sentinel: "There is apparently a lot of problems with drugs around here, but we've never had anything like this before. It's really frightened me."