Arrest made in grisly Camden canal murder

A man is being questioned in relation with the murder of a woman, whose dismembered body was pulled out of the canal in Camden over nine years ago. Police revealed today they have arrested a 53-year-old man in connection with the murder of Paula Fields an

A man is being questioned in relation with the murder of a woman, whose dismembered body was pulled out of the canal in Camden over nine years ago.

Police revealed today they have arrested a 53-year-old man in connection with the murder of Paula Fields and that of a Melissa Halstead, whose body was found in the Westersingel Canal in Rotterdam in 1990.

The two murders were officially linked in February this year before Dutch and British police made a new joint appeal for information on the BBC's Crimewatch programme last month.

The man, who was arrested today, is being held at a police station in South London.

Body parts belonging to 34-year-old Paula Fields concealed in six holdall bags were dragged up by three boys who were fishing in the Regent's Canal on February 19 2001. Her head and hands were missing and have never been found.

The body of Ms Field, who was known to have worked as a prostitute was dismembered, wrapped in a white plastic bag and then put into a black bin liner and then into six holdalls which were weighed down by bricks.

Police believed it had been in the water for several months before it was discovered. Police forensic experts had used samples of DNA to identify the body. A post mortem carried out at St Pancras mortuary failed to reveal the exact cause of death.