FRENCH police are treating the hunt for the killer of a former Ebbw Vale steel worker as their top priority.

Aaron Powell, 56, was murdered at Orleans railway station, 67 miles south of Paris, on Wednesday night.

He died after being stabbed through the heart with what is believed to have been a machete.

Police suffered a major setback yesterday when they found that CCTV footage of the area did not contain any evidence and there were no eye-witnesses. They said a large number of youths were hanging around the station that night.

Meanwhile, Ebbw Vale Rugby Club's team manager has paid a warm tribute to Mr Powell, who left the town for Cardiff seven years ago.

Doug Taylor, who worked with him at the steelworks between 1963 and 1976, said he was "deeply shocked".

Mr Taylor said: "Aaron coached a junior section at the club during the mid-1980s and he was a great friend and follower of the club.

"He also used to keep the Victoria Arms in Cwm.

"Aaron was always willing to help you out and was a great character who was full of life."

Michael Chilcott, who now owns the Victoria Arms, said: "Aaron ran the pub with three members of his family for about eight years and he is still remembered here.

"He was popular with the rugby lads, one of the boys and always good for fun."

French transport police discovered the slumped body of Mr Powell in an alleyway.

The grieving father was travelling to Barcelona with a family friend to try to come to terms with the death of his daughter Mandy, who was mown down by a car in Cardiff in December 2000.

Last month, Salal Said, who lived for a short while in a hostel at Dunn Square in Pill, Newport, was jailed for six years after being found guilty of causing Mandy's death through dangerous driving.