A 40-YEAR-old man has been charged with the murder of a Burnley student.

Keith Roy Erskine, of Osprey Court, Trafford, Manchester, was last night charged with the murder and robbery of David Brown, a former Burnley College student who died on September 21, last year.

Erskine has also been charged with robbing a 20-year-old man on the same date.

He will appear before Manchester City Magistrates' Court later today.

David, 24, was found dead outside the door to his flat on Chorlton Road, Hulme, several hours after he was believed to have been attacked.

Police believe he had been stabbed three times in his thighs as he made his way home from Cruz 101 nightclub, Princess Street, in the heart of the city's gay village.

After his death, police released CCTV footage which showed his final moments in the club as he waited to collect his jacket from the venue's cloakroom at 2.25am.

Minutes later he was again caught by cameras leaving the nightclub alone and crossing Princess Street while putting his jacket on.

His death sent shockwaves through the gay community in the city and police patrols were increased around Canal Street in the weeks following the tragedy.

Shortly before his death, David quit his job to chase his dream of teaching English in Spain and was about to start a four-year degree in Spanish at Manchester Metro-politan University.

He had lived in the city for four years and his mum, Sylvia Stansfield, 51, of Laburnum Close, Burnley, described him as a "loving and popular" son in the wake of his death.

He was a former pupil of St Stephen's Primary School, Burnley and Mansfield High School, Brierfield.