POLICE investigating the murder of a man in Gateshead have arrested four people at a house in County Durham.

Barry Self, 38, died six days after he was assaulted in a street outside a house on the Leam Lane Estate where he had been seeing in New Year's Day.

Tonight, following inquiries by detectives, officers from the Durham and Northumbria police forces cordoned off a house on Dene Court in Hamsterley Mill, County Durham at 8pm.

Four people were arrested, including a 38-year-old man wanted in connection with Mr Self's murder.

All four are now at Etal Lane police station in Newcastle.

Chief Superintendent Trevor Watson, police commander in the north Durham area, said the operation passed off "without incident".

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Anastasi, who is leading Northumbria Police's murder inquiry, said: "We are still appealing for witnesses and anyone with information about the murder to contact us."

Mr Self, from Blyth, Northumberland, had been drinking at The Bugle pub, on the Leam Lane Estate, on New Year's Eve when he and other drinkers were invited back to a party at a house in Underwood. He was found injured on a footpath outside the house at 4.55am on January 1.

His parents, Heather and Bob, have described him as "a wonderful son and a fantastic dad".

Anyone with information can call police on 03456-043043, extension 69191, or Crimestoppers on 0800-555111.