Two arrested over murder of mother

A woman who was stabbed to death as she pushed her baby son in his pram "would do anything to help anyone," her sister said yesterday.

Melanie Horridge, 25, was described by her sister, Michelle, as a "best friend" after her murder in an alleyway in Chorley, Lancashire.

Melanie had left her mother's house to walk to a nearby phone box on Friday night when she was attacked with a knife, Lancashire police said.

She was slashed in the neck, hands and body while her four-month-old son, Oliver, wailed.

The baby's cries alerted three teenagers nearby, who came running to find Melanie dying. They alerted an ambulance and police, but she died shortly after arriving at hospital. Post-mortem tests confirmed the cause of death as multiple stab wounds.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder, but Detective Superintendent Paul Buschini, who is leading the investigation, stressed that this did not signal an end to their investigation.

In the sealed-off alleywayabout 15 officers made a fingertip search, and the grounds of nearby Shaftesbury House School was searched.

The men were in custody at Leyland police station and will be interviewed again today after detectives were granted an extension to the men's detention yesterday.

Melanie lived with her partner, minutes away from her mother's home and the scene of her murder. Her youngest son, Oliver, is now back in the care of her partner, who is also looking after her other two children, Lewis, three, and Louise, two.