Murder hunt detectives have revealed a man stabbed in a drugs feud was forced to flee for his life by smashing through a window.

Omar Locke, 26, was knifed three times by a gang at a home in Cranes Court, Basildon, before he made his desperate escape through a pane of glass.

Unemployed Mr Locke, from Tottenham in north London, managed to stagger to a pal's car, but bled to death from a wound to his buttock as they arrived in London.

Police today made a fresh appeal for anyone with information to come forward as a horrified young mum revealed how she witnessed the commotion in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The woman said she was woken by the sound of breaking glass from a neighbouring flat and looked out of her window to see a man running into woodland. He had come through the ground floor window.

She at first put the shouting and screaming she heard down to a domestic row. She said: "I heard a smashing sound, woke up and saw someone running away. It looked like the window had been smashed from the outside. There was a girl screaming in the flat.

"I was a bit scared. I can't believe someone was killed next door while I was here with my baby."

The woman said the 64 flats owned by Basildon Community Housing Association in Cranes Court, became a regular battlefield at night.

She said: "These sorts of thing happen all the time. Nobody's around during the day time, but at night it comes alive."

Det Supt David Bright, who is leading the murder hunt, appealed for witnesses to come forward.

He said: "This is an absolutely awful crime. The people who did this can't be acting naturally. They must have told someone or maybe had blood stains on their clothes that they couldn't explain.

"The victim had to jump from a window and there must have been a lot of noise."

Officers have asked for the public's help in tracking down the weapon used, believed to be a wide-bladed knife at least five-and-a-half inches long, which has not yet been recovered.

Information to police on 01268 581747 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Scene - the area of Cranes Court where the stabbing took place

(Right) Det Supt David Bright

Top picture: NICK ANSELL

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