THE investigation into the murder of a North-East takeaway worker will feature on BBC One's Crimewatch programme tonight.

Detective Chief Inspector John Bent will be live from the show's Cardiff studio as he appeals to millions of people across the country for help with the investigation into the unsolved killing of Tipu Sultan.

The 32-year-old was approached by a man armed with a gun just before 10pm on Tuesday, April 7, and shot from close range at the rear of the Herbs n Spice Kitchen takeaway in Lake Avenue, South Shields.

Two men on a motorbike were seen driving into a rear lane just before and leaving just after the shooting.

Officers believe that these two men were responsible for the murder of Mr Sultan and enquiries are underway to identify and find them.

The Crimewatch film crew came to South Tyneside last week to interview detectives and Tipu's brother Mahsum Sultan and filmed a reconstruction.

DCI Bent, of Northumbria Police, said: “We are working with Crimewatch to help broaden our appeal for further information and encourage any witnesses to come forward to police.

“The filming in Lake Avenue generated a lot of interest from local people and I'd urge as many people as possible to tune into Crimewatch tonight to see if the reconstruction jogs anyone's memory.

“Any information could be the key we need to solving this investigation, no matter how irrelevant you may think the information may be, it could be vital to helping solve the murder of Tipu Sultan.”

Since the murder investigation was launched more than 1,000 homes have been visited by officers carrying out house to house enquiries and 225 statements have been taken.

The incident room has received in excess of 100 phonecalls, emails, web submissions and letters from members of the public passing on information.

DCI Bent added: “Any information can be passed anonymously. We don't need to take your details, we just need any information that you may have that could help us catch Tipu's killers.”

If anyone has any information they can contact officers in Northumbria on 101. They can call into the Crimewatch studios this evening or they can also contact Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.