DETECTIVES believe out-of-work actor Stephen Milburn may have been dead for up to three weeks before his body was found.

The divorced father-of-two was discovered in his two-bedroomed council house in Coxhoe, near Durham City, on Sunday.

The 43-year-old had been stabbed twice in the chest.

Detective Superintendent Harry Stephenson, who is leading the inquiry, said last night that it was vitally important to piece together Mr Milburn's movements before his death.

The last reported sighting was late last month, when he was seen by a neighbour in a street near his home in The Grove.

He was found in the kitchen of his home. Young children playing in the back garden of the house raised the alarm when they spotted the body through a window.

House-to-house inquiries are continuing in the village and teams of crime scene examiners are due to begin a detailed search of the house today.

For the past four days, specialist forensic advisors have been inside the property.

A post-mortem examination on Monday established that Mr Milburn died from stab wounds to his chest. A second examination was carried out yesterday, by Home Office pathologist Dr James Sunter.

Det Supt Stephenson said: "We need to speak, as a matter of urgency, to anyone who saw Mr Milburn in late October or even into early November.

"We need to establish where he was and who he talked to in the days and hours before he died."

More than 30 officers are working on the investigation and a mobile police station has been set up in The Grove.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 0191-375 2236 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.