BRITAIN:Suffolk police were last night questioning a second man in what was described as a "significant" development in the hunt for the killer or killers of five women in Ipswich.
The officer heading the inquiry, Det Chief Supt Stewart Gull, confirmed that a 48-year- old man had been arrested at his home in Ipswich at approximately 5am yesterday morning.
Subsequently named locally as Stephen Wright, he, too, was arrested on suspicion of murdering all five women - Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls - who worked as prostitutes in the town.
Neighbours described the scene where Mr Wright was taken away from his flat, in a house on London Road on the edge of the town's red-light district, hand-cuffed and still in his nightclothes.
Following the same procedure as the arrest of former special constable Tom Stephens (37) at his home in Trimley on Monday, police declined to identify the station at which the second man was being held.
Insisting they would "not confirm or deny the identity of people in custody", Mr Gull repeated that as legal proceedings were active, Suffolk police would not be issuing further comments or appeals at that stage.
Following yesterday's arrest of Mr Wright, police were later granted permission to continue questioning Mr Stephens for another 36 hours. In media and newspaper interviews last week, Mr Stephens admitted knowing the victims, two of them "well", and acknowledged the likelihood of his arrest for further questioning. He strenuously asserted his innocence of any involvement in the killings.
Forensic officers were seen examining Mr Stephens's garden, while similar investigations were being conducted in the property and garden at the London Road scene of yesterday's second arrest.
News of that arrest did not come entirely as a surprise following a report in yesterday's London Times that, despite the arrest of Mr Stephens, police feared "the real killer may still be at large".
The newspaper quoted police sources close to the investigation as saying they were looking at five other suspects and were "no more than 50 per cent sure they had their man".
The BBC was criticised by media lawyers yesterday for broadcasting the possibly "prejudicial" interview recorded last week with Mr Stephens.
Meanwhile, a writer who has been researching Ipswich's red-light scene and who was reportedly a client of one of the dead women, said he was doing all he could to help police with their inquiries. PA said Ray Hollingsworth (53), author of The Dirty Blonde at the Cash Machine, from Colchester in nearby Essex, contacted police last Saturday after recognising CCTV footage of victim Anneli Alderton.
He said: "I got in touch with the police because I saw the CCTV footage of Anneli. Until then I didn't realise I knew her because girls change their looks and these girls have about six different names. I was a client of Anneli's about a year ago."
Mr Hollingsworth said he phoned the police hotline to suggest places were prostitutes took their clients in the area.