Relatives of a man who died after being stabbed in the street have paid tribute to a "fantastic" cousin and brother.

Detectives are still searching for the attacker who stabbed Nazir Taj Sheikh in the St Saviours Road area of Highfields on Monday afternoon.

Yesterday, the 36-year-old's cousin spoke to the Leicester Mercury to pay tribute.

Acting as a family spokesman, Mohamed Khan said: "He was a fantastic bloke. He didn't have any children of his own, but he had lots of nieces and nephews and he loved them like they were his own. He was 100% family orientated."

Mr Sheikh,  who lived just a few streets away from where he was fatally injured, managed to stumble through an alleyway to nearby Grove Road, where he was found collapsed on the pavement, bleeding heavily.

He died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday.

An inquest into his death is due to open on Friday.

Mr Khan, of Birmingham, described his cousin as "a real character and a free spirit."

"He always put a smile on my face.

"He was someone you could talk to about anything.

"He was a good listener, very understanding and a very intelligent person," said Mr Khan, who said his cousin's death was a tragic loss for the whole community.

"He was really well known, not just by friends and family but by everyone. Monday was a sad day for everyone," he said.

"There's no other person like him. I could stand and talk for hours about how brilliant he was. He's a young man whose life has been taken away. He was just a great person and he'll be deeply missed."

Detectives investigating Mr Sheikh's murder are still trying to find his killer and determine a motive for the attack.

A knife found in the Grove Road area is still being examined by forensic teams.

Police said yesterday they could not confirm at this stage whether or not it was the weapon used in the attack.

A post-mortem examination on Tuesday concluded Mr Sheikh died from a single stab wound.

Superintendent Craig Moore, who is leading the inquiry, yesterday made another public appeal for information about Mr Sheikh's movements prior to the stabbing.

He said: "We believe that the victim was involved in an incident on St Saviours Road, near the alleyway which leads to Grove Road, and then collapsed in Grove Road.

"I urge anyone who hasn't already contacted the police to get in touch if they were in St Saviours Road between 3.30pm and 3.50pm on Monday. Even if you didn't see anything we need to speak to you to eliminate you from our inquiries.

"Mr Sheikh was very well known in the area and I am appealing to anyone who saw him prior to the incident to contact us. Any information, no matter how small, could help with our inquiries."

The incident happened at about 3.45pm on Monday.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Operation Remedy incident room on 0116 222 2222.

Police release image of victim's jacket - read more

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