Attack suspect's custody extended

Police sealed off the farmyard

Detectives have got permission to continue questioning a suspect after an attack at a farm during which a man was beaten to death.

Cheshire Police confirmed they had successfully applied for a warrant from magistrates to extend interviews with the 43-year-old man.

He is expected to remain in police custody until later on Sunday afternoon.

The man was arrested after Brian Waters was killed with a blunt instrument at Burnt House Farm in Tabley, near Knutsford, Cheshire.

Another man was seriously injured in the attack, which involved three men and took place at about 1600 BST on Thursday.

Mr Waters, 44, from Mainwaring Close, Stapeley, near Nantwich, was a market trader.

Police were called by a driver passing the farm who witnessed the attack.

It is thought the second man, who is being treated at Wythenshawe Hospital in Greater Manchester, was also badly beaten.

He is understood to still be in a stable condition with multiple but not life-threatening injuries.

Police said the suspect was arrested in the nearby village of Pickmere after he tried to steal a car.

He jumped into the vehicle, which had a woman inside it, but was apprehended by her father after she managed to flee.

Detectives are still hunting two other men in connection with the incident.

It is thought the farmhouse where the incident took place was being used for non-agricultural purposes.