VITAL video footage was stolen from a nightclub moments after a young Tottenham rapper was stabbed to death.

The CCTV hard drive from the Boheme club in east London was taken after 23-year-old Kelvin Easton was stabbed through the heart, in the early hours of Sunday, March 27.

Mr Easton, widely known by the rap name Smegz, was found in a pool of blood at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the Bow club, having apparently been stabbed with a broken champagne bottle.

The club has been temporarily shut down pending full review within a month, after it emerged a man had talked his way into the club's offices claiming to need to review CCTV footage after the stabbing, but had instead run off with the hard drive.

The local council launched an emergency licensing review after PC Andrew Jackson, from Tower Hamlets Police, expressed concern at “the apparent ease with which the unknown male was able to gain access both to the manager's office and the CCTV room”.

He added that although the club's management had given police footage from a head-cam worn by a doorman, still photos taken that night, and images of clubbers taken on entry, “they have lost what could be a vital piece of evidence” in the CCTV footage.

The club's management, in a statement, pledged to “work alongside the police using our in-house ID scan to ensure that the person responsible is caught”.

Mr Easton, of Gospatrick Road, Tottenham, was attacked at around 4.30am as the funky house club night was drawing to a close.

Since his death, many tributes have been posted online under YouTube rap videos Mr Easton shot around Tottenham and Broadwater Farm.

Carmel Oliver, who set up a Gone Too Soon tribute page for Mr Easton, wrote: “We still can't believe this has happened, and that your never coming back.

“You are loved so much by so many people who'll never forget you, never let their memories of you fade and always have room in their hearts for you.”

Detective Chief Inspector Charles King, from the Met's Homicide and Serious Crime Command, is leading the murder investigation, and urged witnesses to call police on 0208 345 4142 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Four men – aged 27, 23, 25, and 17 – have been arrested and questioned by police in connection with the investigation.

They have all been released on bailed until May 17 pending further enquiries.