ONE man is dead and another is fighting for his life after a double stabbing at a house in County Durham.

The death is the latest in a chilling sequence being investigated by detectives across the North-East.

In the latest killing, two men were stabbed in the kitchen of a house in Edward Terrace, New Kyo, near Stanley, County Durham, between 3.30pm and 4pm on Saturday.

Thirty-year-old Daniel Laidlaw, of Edward Terrace, died and a 27-year-old man – understood to be his brother – was taken to The University Hospital of North Durham where he was last night in a poorly condition.

This morning, 23-year-old John Donnison, also of Stanley, will appear at Consett Magistrates’ Court charged with murder and attempted murder.

An elderly woman, who lives nearby, said: “They were drinking and carrying on and they started to get boisterous.

Then I heard a girl scream, so I came in and locked the door,” she said.

“I heard shouting and screaming. I was very worried because I was on my own.

“It is not very nice to know what has happened. It is terrible and I feel as though I want to move now.”

Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin, who is leading the investigation, said: “The kitchen is at the back of the property and the house is overlooked at the back by Coronation Terrace and at the front by Unity Terrace.

“I would appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious or remembers hearing a disturbance at the back of the house between 3.30pm and 4pm to get in touch with police.”

The killing has stunned the quiet community.

Mary Brown, 56, of Edward Terrace, said: “It is a real shock for something like this to happen in the street. It is horrifying. We never seem to have any bother. Most people keep themselves to themselves so the thought of someone being killed in your street is horrific.”

Elsewhere in the North- East, a number of investigations are ongoing:

■ On Friday, 88-year-old Harriet Davison was found dead at a care home in Sunderland.

■ On Thursday, Robert Barry Aunger, 45, died from injuries sustained in an incident in Spennymoor.

■ The body of 59-year-old Fred Shipley was discovered at his home in Paradise Crescent, Easington, on July 3.

■ Mark Richard Sweeney, 37, died in hospital after an incident in Hollowfield, Chilton, last month.

■ Also last month, homeless man George Akers, 59, was found dead in the grounds of St Cuthbert’s Church, in Darlington.