Boy, 4, dies and sister wounded in stabbing

A man stabbed to death a four-year-old boy and then went to his local pub for a pint of beer, it was claimed yesterday.

The boy's 14-year-old sister was also seriously injured in the incident at a home in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield. A witness described how she collapsed bleeding in the street with stab wounds through her mouth and ribs.

The teenager under went surgery last night after being taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where her condition was described as serious but stable. The boy died soon after arriving at hospital following the incident shortly before 1pm.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder and are in police custody.

A resident, Jez Pierce, 39, said the man walked into the nearby Silent Woman pub, ordered his pint and sat down with a friend. He finished his drink and later walked out of the bar where he was arrested by police.

The children's great-uncle George Fellows said the family were " devastated" by the attack. He said: "We're a close family and we're devastated. We just can't believe it." Mr Fellows said the children's mother was receiving counselling.

Waqar Zaman, 34, the owner of nearby Hill Top Stores, was one of the first people on the scene. Finding the teenage girl lying in the street, he described how he removed his T-shirt and used it to try to stem the flow of blood from her wounds.

He said: "She had a stab wound on her face which went straight through her mouth, she had stab wounds in her stomach just under her rib cage, all over the place.

"Her right arm was completely broken, she couldn't breathe. She was complaining she couldn't breathe, that she was going to die."

A large part of Slaithwaite was cordoned off while police conducted their investigations. A white tent could be seen outside one of the stone houses on Royd Street and residents in neighbouring houses were not allowed out of their properties.

A neighbour, Paul O'Shea, said: "We are very shocked. It happened right across the road from us. Seven or eight houses have been blocked off and the residents are not being allowed out. The first we heard about anything was when the police arrived. It's a terrible thing to happen."

Detective Superintendent Tim Forber said: "This has been a very serious incident which has seen the life of a four-year-old boy having been brought to a tragic end and left a 14-year-old girl in hospital with serious stab wounds."

Det Supt Forber added that the incident was not being treated as a random attack.