British police investigating the so-called "trophy rapist", thought to be responsible for a string of ten sex attacks, are describing the arrest of a man as a significant development.
The married man (48) was arrested at 11.30 p.m. last night and is being interviewed by officers from Operation Orb, the inquiry team hunting the rapist, at a Kent police station.
Police are investigating nine rapes and one attempted rape over the past year on young girls and women aged 10 to 52 in London, Kent, Berkshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
Operation Orb is the biggest manhunt of its kind since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
The "trophy rapist" has often taken an item of his victim's clothing. He is first thought to have struck on November 15th last year when a 10-year-old girl was raped near Ashford, Kent.
The latest attack linked to the rapist took place on October 25th, when a 14-year-old girl was raped in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
PA