Ipswich communities in fear

Police briefing Officers investigating the murder of three prostitutes and the discovery of two more suspected victims are expected to move a second body from woodland.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out on one body which was moved from the woods near Ipswich to try to establish the cause of death.

The remains are thought to be those of Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. Officers were also checking reports that a handbag and clothes had been found in the River Orwell. Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said the force had received a number of calls from the public about clothing found at different locations across Ipswich.

"Clearly, we're still looking for confirmed sightings of where the girls were and what they were actually wearing," he said. "So we don't actually know what we've got - but we've seized it and secured it at this time." Detectives said the victims had not died where their bodies were found. Police have linked the murders of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Anneli Alderton, 24, whose bodies were found in nearby villages within 10 days.

Det Ch Supt Gull said all five deaths bore "striking similarities" in that the women had been found naked and in a rural environment.

Paula Clennell has not been seen since Saturday.

Home Office pathologist Dr Nat Carey, who carried out post-mortem examinations on the three murdered prostitutes, will examine the other two bodies. Vice-chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers homicide working group, Dave Johnston, has been brought in to assess and advise on the progress of the inquiry. He said: "This ranks amongst the most serious and resource intensive inquiries that I have ever been involved in."

He said the deaths of the first three prostitutes have been classed as murder, while the other two have been linked to the murder inquiry.

Mr Johnston added: "[Suffolk Police] will be under considerable pressure because alongside these five murders they have to continue to provide day-to-day policing."

Home Secretary John Reid and Downing Street have contacted Suffolk's Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter to make sure he has enough resources to deal with the current murder inquiry.

The prime minister's spokesman said officials were assured Mr McWhirter was "happy" with the level of resources he had.

In the House of Commons, the prime minister said there was "entirely understandable fear" in the community in Ipswich and said all MPs would want to send their sympathy to the people of Suffolk and the relatives of the victims.

The site where the two bodies were found on Tuesday is off the main A14 trunk road between Ipswich and Felixstowe docks close to a railway line, the Orwell estuary and a marina. It is near to where the body of Miss Alderton, who had moved to the area from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, was found on Sunday in Nacton. The body of Miss Adams was found on 2 December in woodland at Hintlesham, on the outskirts of Ipswich.

She had last been seen on 15 November. On 8 December the body of Miss Nicol was found in nearby Copdock. She was the first to go missing and had last been seen on 30 October.

(Courtesy: BBC NEWS)