The butcher stabbed in his own shop was “living life to the full” before he died, a close family friend said this week.

Tragic 24-year-old Irfan Ahmad had been studying in London for just over a year and was making the most of his time in the city, his friend Hameed Gul said.

Colleagues have already paid tribute to a man who was “always smiling” and Mr Gul, 35, echoed those words as he spoke of his devastation.

He said: “I have known him for five years, from home in Pakistan, and I was like an older brother. He was such a lovely chap who really was always smiling.

“He had been here about 13 months and was studying at a college in central London and working a few days a week. He was really enjoying his time here. He was very young and good looking and he was going out partying at weekends and enjoying himself. He was living life to the full.”

Mr Ahmad, who lived in Hanley Road, Finsbury Park, was killed at Halal Food Direct in The Broadway, Wood Green, by a man who got behind the counter and stabbed him with one of his own knives, on Thursday, September 29.

A funeral was held on Saturday in east London and the body was due to be sent back to Mr Ahmad’s relatives in Pakistan the same day.

Mr Gul, a salesman at The Mall Wood Green in High Road, Wood Green, added: “I’m devastated and so is his family. Every time I speak to his mother she breaks down in tears and can’t talk. She only said ‘bring my son’s body to me to I can say my last words’.”

Police are appealing for witnesses. Anyone who can assist should call the incident room on 020 7321 9290 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.