The family of two sisters found murdered following a violent attack at a flat in Birmingham paid tribute yesterday to their ?angels?. The bodies of Algerians Yasmine and Sabrina Larbi-Cherif, aged 22 and 19, were discovered in a flat in the Ladywood district of the city on Monday.

Police said the women had been subjected to a sustained and violent attack. In a statement, the victims? family said the women were loved and respected by all who knew them. ?Due to their Islamic faith and open-minded upbringing, they were always humble, compassionate, generous and helpful to anyone who knew them. The family have been devastated by the deaths of their ?angels?. Both their mother and father were extremely proud of the way in which the girls lived their lives, working and studying hard, as they had been brought up to do.?

More than 80 detectives and police are now involved in the investigation into their deaths. A 28-year-old man is still being held in custody on suspicion of murder after being detained trying to board a cross-Channel ferry on Tuesday in Dover. Detectives said they believed more than one weapon had been used in the attack.

A post-mortem revealed they had died from stab wounds.