A MAN arrested in connection with three Cambridgeshire murders appeared in court today in Hereford accused of stabbing two men in the town.

Gary Stretch, 47, appeared before Hereford magistrates today accused of assisting an offender.

The 7ft 3 man, who previously lived at Badgeney Road, March, and more recently in Peterborough, face charges of stabbing two men in Hereford on Tuesday.

He faces a further charge of burglary which took place at a house in Kington on the same day.

His girlfriend, Joanna Dennehy, 30, who was arrested in connection with the stabbings, was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to a secure unit outside Herefordshire where she is being assessed.

A 42 year old man from Kington in Herefordshire has been charged with handling stolen goods in connection with the Kington burglary and has been bailed to appear before Hereford Magistrates Court at a later date.

A 47 year old man has been granted police bail pending further enquiries into assisting an offender wanted by Cambridgeshire Police and for handling stolen goods in connection wit the Kington burglary.

A 43 year old man has been released on police bail in relation to the offence of handling stolen goods in connection with the same burglary.

Officers investigating the burglary arrested two more people - a man and a woman - in the Belmont area of Hereford on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

They have been released on police bail.

The Cambridgeshire murders began last Friday when the body of property developer Kevin Lee, 48, was found stabbed to death in a roadside ditch on Saturday.

Then on Tuesday the drama switched to Thorney Dyke near Whittlesey where two more bodies were found.

Four days later, two more bodies were found in a remote dyke a short drive away.

They were later named as John Chapman, 56, of Orton Goldhay and Lukasz Slaboszewski, also of Peterborough.