A guitar was used in the murder of a man at his own home in Belfast over Christmas, police have revealed.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the killer of Matthew Goddard had used the victim’s own electric guitar in a brutal assault on Christmas Eve.

He was found dead at his house in Chobham Street in east Belfast by a friend who had come round to pick up Christmas presents.

A PSNI spokesman said Goddard, who was in his 40s, was not known to police but they were investigating a possible drugs link to the murder.

Police said the assault had been “violent and sustained”.

Neighbours in the area described the murdered man, known to locals as Mat, as a popular and well-liked character in the district.