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Two men are in police custody tonight after a four-year-old boy was murdered and his teenage sister seriosuly wounded at a house in West Yorkshire.

The young boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries after an incident at a house on Royd Street, in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, this afternoon but died a short time later.

His 14-year-old sister is being treated at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary for serious injuries after she was also stabbed.

The family of the dead boy said they were "devastated" at their loss.

The children's great-uncle George Fellows said: "We're a close family and we're devastated. We just can't believe it."

His daughter-in-law Tracey Fellows added: "It's just senseless."

Mr Fellows said the children's mother was receiving counselling.

Waqar Zaman, 34, the owner of nearby Hill Top Stores, was one of the first people on the scene and described how he tried to help the teenage girl by removing his t-shirt and trying to stem the flow of blood from her wounds.

He said: "She had a stab wound on her face which went straight through her mouth, she had stab wounds in her stomach just under her rib cage, all over the place.

"Her right arm was completely broken, she couldn't breathe.

"She was complaining she couldn't breathe, that she was going to die."

Mr Zaman said he believed the girl had gone to pick her brother up from their father's house when the attack happened.

Today, a large part of Slaithwaite was cordoned off while police conducted their investigations.

24Dash

Oh dear. That is absolutely terrible.

Little boy 'killed by doting dad'

This is happy, smiling Ryan Hawkins, allegedly stabbed to death by his father Chris a week after his fourth birthday.

Ryan was knifed at least 10 times and his sister, Donna, 14, was stabbed 20 times after she arrived at her father's home to collect her little brother.

Donna suffered wounds to her face, chest and stomach and is in a serious, but stable condition.

Hawkins, 47, who friends say doted on Ryan, is thought to have flipped after separating from his wife of 17 years, Valerie, 40, and hearing she had met a new man.


Their children, Ryan, Donna, and Natalie, 15, were living with their mother but Ryan often spent weekends with his father.

Just 24 hours before the knife attack, Ryan had been with his father at Slaithwaite cricket and bowling club, near Huddersfield, West Yorks. A regular said: "Chris loved that boy. He adored him.

"He brought him in the club every weekend and sometimes during the week. He would always be chasing him around and running around with him.

"Ryan loved coming to the club and would get money off his dad so he could go and buy his crisps."

The friend added: "The couple had split up about six weeks ago and he had been really down.

"I asked him how he was and he said 'right at the bottom' and put his thumb down."

Since the split, Hawkins had been living in a rented house.

A white teddy bear was left at the scene with the message: "Ryan, x, I will always miss you."

Yesterday Hawkins and another man, aged 30, were questioned by police on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The second man was released without charge.

Last night divers searching for the murder weapon were scouring Slaithwaite reservoir.

Mirror