Town in shock after woman, 60, is stabbed to death on her doorstep

Margaret Burke, 60, was woken by loud noises just before 4am yesterday, but was attacked when she went outside.

Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene and found her lying injured in the garden of her terraced home in Blantyre, Lanarkshire.

The pensioner was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, but died a short time later.

Neighbours said the divorced mother of five was trying to calm down a man who was outside her house in Parkville Drive with a knife.

The murder has shocked residents in the town, which has been plagued by antisocial behaviour in recent months.

Yesterday, a police cordon was placed at both ends of the residential street, while uniformed officers kept a heavy presence outside the mid-terraced home.

At one point, a tanker with a large suction pump was used to empty all the drains in the street in a search for the murder weapon.

A blue Fiat Punto car was left parked outside Mrs Burke's home, with a white tarpaulin placed next to the driveway where she was attacked.

Some tearful neighbours comforted one another after hearing the news, though no floral tributes were brought to the address during the day. A team of forensic officers were at the scene combing the garden and driveway for clues.

They also searched neighbours' gardens next door and across the street.

One neighbour said: "It's a shocking thing to happen on your doorstep, but I can't say I'm surprised.

"Blantyre is getting worse, and there is lots of antisocial behaviour here, especially at weekends.

"My partner heard shouting in the middle of the night, but we couldn't see anything from our window. We could just hear lots of loud voices.

"Margaret was really quiet and she was a grandmother," said the neighbour.

"I know she had children living nearby and they will be devastated at what's happened to their mum."

Mother-of-two Banu Gokdeniz, 25, lives a few doors away. She said she was now too afraid to let her children out to play.

Ms Gokdeniz said: "I haven't lived here long and don't know that many people. I have two young children and another one on the way, and it is frightening when you think about what happened to another mum. I won't be letting the kids go out to play while all this is going on."

Mrs Burke, who had lived in the area all her life, was described by neighbours as a "nice woman who would always say hello" when she passed them on the street.

Her son Anthony has been involved in a dispute with another family and two men were jailed for a total of six years for attempting to murder him in 2008.

Peter McQueen and John-Paul McQueen were convicted for attacking Mr Brown. John Paul attempted to shoot Mr Brown with an air rifle on February 24, 2008, and Peter McQueen fired a crossbow at him on February on 14 March, 2008. He escaped serious injury both times.

Police said last night that a 35-year-old man had been arrested and was detained in custody in connection with the death of Mrs Burke.

Members of her family refused to comment on the death at their home in the Springhill area of Blantyre.

Detective Inspector David Tassie, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "A post-mortem examination will take place in due course to establish the exact cause of death. However, meantime, the death is being treated as murder and an incident room has been set up at Hamilton police office.

"I would appeal to any witnesses to this incident, or anyone with information that may assist police inquiries, to contact police as a matter of urgency.

The scene of Margaret's death is just a few streets away from where a mother of four was murdered last month.

Two men, aged 29 and 22, and a woman, 24, were later arrested over the death of Gail Russell, 26, who died on 12. June

This month, police announced a crackdown on gangs causing trouble in Blantyre. They urged the public to report crimes to them and said they would target shopkeepers selling alcohol to under-age drinkers.