POLICE have appealed for help finding vital evidence to enable them to piece together events surrounding a man's death.

Two men have been charged with murdering Robert Parkin, 29, a drug addict whose body was found in a flat at Shaftesbury Street, Stockton, Teesside, last Wednesday.

Detective Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, who is leading the inquiry, said his team was keen to trace a red Seat Toledo, with a rear spoiler, which was seen in Shaftesbury Street in the days before Mr Parkin's death.

He also said that a third property in the Oxbridge area of Stockton had been searched over the weekend after a tip-off that an incident connected to the murder may have taken place there.

Det Supt Braithwaite said: "There are a few gaps in the complicated jigsaw that makes up this inquiry.

"There are people out there who will hold information and I want to hear from them. They may think that what they know is trivial, but it could prove important to us."

Anyone with information, or who knows of the car's whereabouts, is asked to contact Det Supt Braithwaite, directly and in confidence, on 07771 771314 or on the freephone Crimestoppers number 0800 555111.