Man held over country lane murder

A search of the area uncovered items of clothing

Detectives investigating the murder of a young woman whose naked body was found in a country lane have arrested a man.

West Mercia Police said the man, whose age and details were not being given, was arrested in the West Midlands and is due to be questioned on Wednesday.

The woman, who is thought to be aged between 16 and 25, was found by a man walking his dog off the A38 at Rashwood, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, on the morning of Remembrance Sunday.

She was naked and a post-mortem examination revealed that she died from massive injuries to her head and face.

It is believed she died sometime between 1800 GMT on Saturday and 0830 GMT on Remembrance Sunday.

Fingertip search

Police said they would not name the woman, who was identified on Tuesday afternoon, before her relatives had been informed.

Detective Superintendent Mel Shore, leading the investigation, said black shoes and a white vest top believed to belong to the woman were found by officers carrying out a fingertip search of the area on Monday night.

The officer said he could not say whether she had been sexually assaulted. He added that no weapon had yet been recovered.

The lane where the body was found is near the Robin Hood pub, close to junction 5 of the M5 motorway, and leads to a nursing home.