Murder suspect's 'lies'

A man being hunted for two double murders told a string of "spurious" stories to avoid being caught, it was revealed today. As the search for Mark Hobson, 34, entered its sixth day, police outlined the lengths he went to in a bid to escape.

Detectives said he had phoned the parents of Claire Sanderson, 27, days before her badly decomposed body was found in the flat they shared. Having convinced them not to worry about their daughter, police believe Hobson then waited several days for her sister Diane to visit the property in North Yorkshire. She was then strangled.

Hours later the bodies of James Britton, 80, and his wife Joan, 82, were found 20 miles away with stab wounds. Police are now convinced the killings are "positively linked".