DETECTIVES hunting the killer of a father-of-two have set up a mobile police station in the street where he was last seen alive.

Detectives carried out house-to-house inquiries in central Middlesbrough, yesterday, in a search for clues to the last movements of drug addict Darren Manders, known as Duggie, who was battered to death.

The 31-year-old's badly decomposed body was discovered by a dog walker, partly concealed under a pile of logs in a wood at Nunthorpe, on Thursday, July 3.

The last sighting of him alive was on Thursday, June 5, in Bow Street, Middlesbrough, where he lived.

Cleveland Police have focused their attention on the street and put up posters in local shops, as well as setting up the mobile incident room.

Detective Superintendent Karnail Dulku, who is heading the murder hunt, said Mr Manders was a familiar figure on the streets, and that police want to speak to everyone who saw or spoke to him before he disappeared.

Mr Dulku said: "No matter how brief the sighting or how short the conversation people had with him, we want to know about it.

"What may be insignificant to some could be vital to us in the hunt to find Darren's killer.

"We would ask people to search their memories. Did they see him in company with others, and was it after Thursday, June 5?"

Mr Manders' parents, Terry and Lesley, made an impassioned plea for help in catching the killer on Wednesday.

They said: "As Darren's parents, we know he had problems, but there was another side to him.

"He was Duggie to his friends, he was a loving and proud father, a brother to Anthony, who he loved to help out with jobs around his house.

"Losing Darren is the hardest thing we have been through as a family. Losing him this way is killing us."

People with information are asked to call (01642) 303188.