POLICE have arrested three suspects after a man was found with fatal stab wounds in the street.

David George Campbell, 44, who lived in Derby but was originally from Birmingham, died in hospital on Monday.

Police arrested a 31-year-old man this morning and later this afternoon, two men aged 17 and 20, both from Derby, were also arrested.

 

All three were being questioned by police tonight.

Earlier, families had talked of their fears after Mr Campbell had been found with fatal injuries in Crewe Street, Normanton, on Monday night. He later died in hospital.

Local residents were concerned that no one had been arrested over the incident.

Dozens of police were involved in the inquiry. Forensic specialists were carrying out tests on a car they had taken away from Yates Street, close to where Mr Campbell was found.

Police are continuing their search for a weapon and yesterday teams of forensic officers combed the street in the search for clues.

Officers admitted no-one had seen how Mr Campbell suffered his injuries and they had no description of anyone else who may have been involved.

The victim was found on the ground with chest wounds at 8.30pm and taken to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary but later died.

John Thompson, 47, of Crewe Street, has two children aged 12 and eight.

He said: "This is a terrible thing – really frightening."

His comments were echoed by dad-of-three Mohammad Khan, who has lived in Crewe Street for 11 years.

He said: "It makes you fear for the safety of your children. You don't want them to leave the house. It's not a nice area."

An incident room has been set up at Derby's St Mary's Wharf police station and scores of officers are working on the case.

They include detectives, crime scene investigators and members of safer neighbourhood teams, who were on patrol yesterday to reassure residents.

Stephen Ilett lives next to the car park in Yates Street where the car was left.

The 39-year-old said: "I've seen that car parked up round here on a few occasions."

A postmortem examination was carried out yesterday and the cause of death was found to be stab wounds.

A police spokeswoman said: "We are investigating as to whether the car is relevant to the inquiry."

Community leaders reacted with shock to the death.

Former Derby City Council leader Chris Williamson met senior police chiefs last night to discuss the stabbing.

"It's a real tragedy for the individual, his family and the community as a whole," he said. "We have worked very hard to make the streets safe.

"Hopefully residents will see that the general trend is a positive one. Normanton is not a problem area. In fact, crime has fallen.

"Normanton is a diverse, multi-cultural area, with people from different nationalities and all walks of life living very harmoniously alongside each other."

Mr Williamson urged anyone with information to call police.

"We want residents to be able to reclaim their streets," he said.

Bernard Blair, who lives opposite the car park, expressed concern about the amount of crime in the area.

"You try not to leave the house after dark if you can help it," he added.

His concerns were repeated by Mr Ilett, who has been burgled and had his front door set on fire last year.

"There's a lot of crime round here," he said. "Something needs to be done."

Anyone with information should call police on 0345 123 3333 or Crimestoppers, free and anonymously, on 0800 555 111.