Birmingham stabbings: Police given more time to quiz man

Jacob Billington, who was out with friends, was stabbed to death in Birmingham

Police have been given more time to question a man suspected of carrying out a series of knife attacks in Birmingham which left one man dead.

Jacob Billington, 23, was killed and seven others injured at four locations over a period of 90 minutes on Sunday.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Billington died of a single stab wound.

Police said magistrates granted a warrant of further detention on Tuesday afternoon, giving them 36 more hours to question the 27-year-old man.

The man, who was detained in Selly Oak in the city at 04:00 BST on Monday, is being held on suspicion of murder and seven counts of attempted murder.

Mr Billington, from Crosby, Merseyside, was stabbed in Irving Street while enjoying a night out with school friends.

One of the group, also 23, was seriously injured and remains in hospital in a critical condition.

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The attacks happened at four locations across Birmingham city centre

Police were first called just after 00:30 on Sunday at Constitution Hill, where a man sustained a superficial injury.

About 20 minutes later they were sent to Livery Street, near Snow Hill railway station, where they found a seriously injured 30-year-old man and a woman who was also hurt.

At 01:50, officers were despatched to Irving Street, where Mr Billington was found with fatal injuries and his friend seriously hurt.

About 10 minutes later, police were called to Hurst Street, in the city's Gay Village, to find a 22-year-old woman had been critically injured and two men less badly hurt.

She remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

Three people arrested on Monday morning from an address in Selly Oak on suspicion of assisting an offender have been released pending investigation.