Amelie police test hammer

A hammer which may have been used to bludgeon to death French student Amelie Delagrange was being examined by police today.

Detectives, who believe the murder may be linked to a string of similar attacks, are awaiting forensic science examination to establish if it was used by the killer.

Miss Delagrange was attacked on the cricket green after taking the wrong bus home after a night out on Thursday, 19 August.

The hammer is believed to have been found in the undergrowth of a park about two miles from the scene of the murder.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm that Hounslow police were informed about an item believed to be suspicious by a member of public. They found it in Bear Road, Hounslow, at 9.30pm on Monday.

"The item has been passed to detectives investigating Am鬩e's murder as have a number of other items since police appeals but we are not prepared to go into specifics about the ongoing investigation."

Detectives had already found some of Miss Delagrange's belongings, including her house keys, in the river at Walton-on-Thames. Police are examining possible links between the murder and similar attacks in the area, including the killing of 19-year-old gap-year student Marsha McDonnell in Hampton last February.

Police investigating the murder of Miss Delagrange arrested and questioned a 22-year-old man in Whitechapel two weeks ago after a tip-off. He has now been detained under the Mental Health Act.