Hammer man held near murder scene

A man armed with a hammer has been seized yards from the scene of Marsha's murder.

He was arrested after acting suspiciously in a street near the road where she was bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument.

The 38-year-old man was held in Percy Road shortly after 9pm last night following a 999 call from a member of the public.

Scotland Yard said he was being interviewed by the squad investigating Miss McDonnell's killing.

He will be questioned about his whereabouts on the nights of that attack and two other assaults linked to the murder.

His address, believed to be in the Hampton area, is being searched. A police source said: "We are interested in what this man can tell us.

All we know at the moment is that he was armed with an offensive-weapon and in the right place for the attacks."

The man called at houses in Percy Road last night and asked residents to ring for a doctor. When he moved on to the house next door, two men came out and saw what they thought was a hammer in the man's hand. They called police.

A shopkeeper said the man who was arrested had entered his store last night with an iron bar hidden under his camouflage jacket.