A MURDERER was being hunted by police last night after a man was stabbed to death following a row at a house party in Bradford.

Police were called to an address in Great Horton Road shortly after 3.20am yesterday following reports of two men arguing.

Officers found a man, believed to be in his 20s, had suffered fatal injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His attacker, a white man thought to be of East European descent, was seen leaving the house heading towards Bradford city centre.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark McManus, of Protective Services (Crime), who is leading the inquiry, said: "We believe there was a social gathering taking place at the address, and during that time a disagreement has occurred between two men.

"This has resulted in one of the men receiving injuries, which sadly proved fatal.

"There were a number of people in the house at the time, particularly a man, a woman and a small child, and I would appeal to them to contact police as soon as possible with any information they may have.

"We would also like to trace a man who was seen leaving the address around that time, in the direction of Bradford city centre.

"He is described as a white man, possibly of Eastern European origin, with a pale complexion.

"He is believed to be about 6ft tall and was wearing dark clothing with a dark baseball cap."

One nearby resident, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, said he saw a man "pull a knife" on the street outside the house.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: "I was at home when it happened, it was about three o'clock.

"I heard some noise on the street and went up to the window, and that's when I saw the guy pull a knife.

"I saw somebody attacked, but I didn't see who it was.

"I've lived here for about three years, and this is the first time I've seen anything like this.

"I've had a sleepless night, it's a big shock."

A number of police vehicles, including two crime scene investigation vans and a scientific support unit, were at the scene yesterday morning, with the area between Gathorne Street and Lime Street up to Shepherd Street cordoned off with police tape.

Forensics officers could be seen examining sections of the pavement and road outside a row of houses and cars within the cordon, taking close-up pictures of the road surface.

The owner of a business in Great Horton Road, who did not want to be named, said he understood the house had Slovakian tenants.

"I came to open at 8 o'clock and the police asked me not to," he said.

"It was a shock to see the street closed off with so many police cars.

"I think they are Slovakians who live there, and they have only been here for about a week.

"Before that, everything was quiet."

Another resident also believed the occupants of the house only moved in recently.

"It's normally a quiet street, but there have been a lot of new tenants in the last two or three weeks," he said.

"I didn't really understand what had happened, I thought a car had been broken into or something.

"Then I heard there had been some kind of a fight, it's bad."

Ward Councillor Nazam Azam (Lab, City) said he had spoken to police about the incident, and urged any witnesses who could help with the investigation to come forward.

"It is terrible and shocking news," he said.

"I have been contacted by many people, who are obviously concerned at this incident in what is such a close-knit community.

"There was obviously an impact on Great Horton Road itself yesterday, but this was necessary to allow the police to take a full course of action."

Area Neighbourhood Team officers conducted reassurance patrols throughout the day as detectives made inquiries to both identify the victim and find out what had happened.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.