MURDER detectives hunting the killer of a Birmingham taxi driver today said the mass DNA screening of a Birmingham estate was “progressing well”.

West Mercia Police said more than 300 homes had been visited with almost all offering to give officers samples of their DNA, fingerprints and photograph.

Detectives introduced the screening of every male aged from 14 to 40 living on the Hawkesley estate two weeks ago in an attempt to flush out the man who murdered Mohammed Arshad.

The 36-year-old father-of-three was repeatedly stabbed in the head and left for dead in a quiet country lane on the border of Birmingham and Worcestershire minutes after picking up a passenger in Kings Norton on Wednesday, July 22.

His blue Ford Galaxy private hire vehicle was found locked and parked about a mile away in Shannon Road, Hawkesley. It is thought the first phase of the operation, focusing on 360 homes on the estate is close to completion.

Officers will then radiate out to two other areas.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: “Our inquiries into the Hawkesley estate are progressing well.