Up to 20 interpreters are working with police investigating the murder of a Kosovan Albanian in Southend, it has been revealed.

An update on the progress of the painstaking inquiries is expected soon.

Language difficulties have hampered the identification of the 32-year-old victim who died last Thursday afternoon following a single stab wound to the heart.

Police were called to the scene at the junction of St Leonards Road and York Road after reports of an argument between three men.

Three men who were arrested have been released and are now being treated as witnesses. Police are still trying to trace a fourth man believed to hold clues to the killing.

Det Sgt John Moran said: "We are trying to finish off door-to-door inquiries.

"We know a name similar to the one the man was using but it does seem people adopt an English name when they come here

"With no family for the man in this country, we have got to be careful we don't get the wrong name. We need to be sure we are talking about the same person.

"It's vital that we don't lose anything in the translation. We are also working in a very small area.

"There are so many little flatlets within each house and there a lot of different nationalities represented.

"We have to spend a little bit more time with everyone, other than making straightforward inquiries.

"We want to make sure we are not losing anything just because we didn't make ourselves understood.

"People speak different dialects depending on which part of the country they came from. Some speak Greek and others speak Italian.

"We are using between 12 and 20 interpreters to help us."

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