THE MAN leading the inquiry into the death of paedophile Arnold Hartley has asked the public to put aside their prejudices and help police.

Detectives hunting the killers of the 73-year-old from Redcar are scrolling through CCTV footage to find which people were in the Queen Street area of Redcar at the time of his death.

The convicted paedophile was found at his terraced home in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Det Supt Brian Dunn, who is leading the hunt, said he is saddened by the lack of response from members of the public.

He said: "So far we have only had a dozen calls offering help and information.

"People really need to put their prejudices to one side. This is the murder of an elderly man in his own home.

"Forget his past offending and help us catch the people responsible.

"Mr Hartley's home in Queen Street is near a busy corner and people will have been out and about at the crucial time we need to know about on Saturday morning and they should look to their conscience and call us."

A number of security cameras cover the area near to Mr Hartley's home and video film has been seized by police covering the key time of the murder between midnight and 1am.

Mr Dunn said checking the camera footage would take time but that there were other ongoing investigations.

One male witness has reported he saw two white men running from the direction of the house, one of them distinctive because he had no shoes on his feet.

Det Supt Dunn, said: "It may well be that these men knew of the attack or may have even been involved."

The man, who appeared to be wearing no shoes, was aged between 24 and 28 years old, between 5ft 8in , and 6f , of skinny build with short fair hair. He was wearing blue jeans, a cream and long-sleeved shirt.

The other is aged between 18 and 20, 5ft 5in and was wearing a dark coloured baseball cap with a white logo.

He was dressed in navy blue track suit bottoms and top, with white stripes.

Det Supt Dunn said: "It is imperative these men get in touch with us."

Anyone with information is asked to ring (01642) 302626 or Crimestoppers on (0800) 555111.