A dad has been stabbed to death defending his teenage daughter from a group of boys who were harassing her, according to neighbours.

The victim was named by local residents as 45-year-old tiler, Jamie Markham.

Police and paramedics, including an air ambulance, were called to Chingford at 6.20pm on Monday, August 9, to find the "family man" suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Witnesses told how paramedics battled to save the dad-of-three amid heavy rain, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were seen trawling through trees and foliage in an alleyway near the murder scene in Chingford earlier today (August 11).

Neighbours say they spotted the teenage girl, who was wearing a grey vest top and leggings, being "annoyed" by a group of boys she was with, as it started raining heavily on Monday evening.

One said she appeared to "pull a face" and went to fetch her dad who had just finished walking the family's dog.

Alice McGill, 78, said she had spoken to neighbours about what happened.

She said: "All I know is that this girl was hanging out with these boys, one of them said something silly. She then went to go and get her father and her father came out and he died.”

Kerrie-Ann Lambert, 32, a mum-of-three said: "I was on my way back from the shops when I saw a large group of teenage boys and one girl wearing leggings and a grey vest top.

"It started really chucking it down and I was looking at the girl and I thought, 'wow you're going to get pneumonia'.

"I thought, should I offer her a jacket? I wish I had intervened.

"She seemed fine to me at first, but then I think one of the boys said something to her and she pulled a face. She looked like she'd been annoyed and she wanted to go home or something.”

"Later I just heard those screams. I'm very upset about it - all he was doing was protecting his daughter.”

Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation. No arrests have been made.

Detective Inspector John Marriott said: "A dedicated team of officers are working to piece together the tragic circumstances that led to this man losing his life.

"The thoughts of all of us are with his family and friends as they come to terms with their loss.

"We have already spoken to a number of key witnesses and recovered CCTV from the area, although I would like to hear from anyone else who witnessed the attack, or a disturbance beforehand."

Chief Superintendent Richard Tucker, responsible for local policing in Waltham Forest, said: "The Met remains committed to tackling violence across London and I would like to reassure the community that we will do everything we can to track down those responsible for this attack.

"I understand the concern this incident will cause and I would like to reassure residents that you will continue to see additional officers in the area over the coming days.

“I would urge you to speak with them about any concerns you have."