Birthday drunk 'stabbed to death by neighbour' who mistook him for burglar after he went to WRONG house

Mark Woods, who would have been 33 today, was coming back from a night of early birthday celebrations when, instead of going to his own house, he tried to unlock the front door of Edwin Pitkin's home.

Hearing the noise, 58-year-old Mr Pitkin allegedly grabbed a knife and a fight broke out in which Mr Woods was fatally stabbed.

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Fatal mistake: Victim Mark Woods (left) and 'killer' Edwin Pitkin

Mr Woods, a forklift driver, had only recently moved into the street in Enfield, North London, and appears to have been confused about which address was his.

Yesterday a housemate of Mr Woods, who did not want to be named, claimed: "Mark did like his booze - but he was a happy drunk. No one could mistake him for a burglar."

He said it was the second time Mr Woods had tried to get into the wrong house after a night out.

The housemate said: "Mark spent all Friday drinking. He had bottles of cider lined up in his room and when I spoke to him in the afternoon he had clearly had too much to drink.

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Mix-up: Mark Woods was drunk after his birthday celebrations and went to the wrong house. He was allegedly murdered because his neighbour thought he was a burglar

"But he said he was going in to work. I heard a knock on my door 20 minutes later and he said they had sent him home. A bit later he asked me to go out to the pub with him. He was saying, "Listen, it's my birthday, let's go out and celebrate'.

"I didn't feel like going out and that's the last I saw of him.

"I wondered where he was just after midnight because he always makes a racket when he comes in and the next thing I knew someone was knocking on my door saying the police were in the street."

The friend said Mr Woods had been the victim of a tragic misunderstanding, adding: "He is more likely to hug you than anything else and I don't understand how he could be mistaken for a burglar."

He added: "Mark was looking forward to his birthday and he was planning to go to his mum's in Barnet for Mother's Day."

Police said a man had been questioned over the incident.