Police seek torso cases link

Police have released pictures of the boy's clothing

Detectives investigating the discovery of a boy's torso in the River Thames have met their Dutch counterparts who are working on a similar case.

The Metropolitan Police were alerted to the death in Holland on Monday, after the dismembered body of an Afro-Caribbean boy was found near Tower Bridge.

A police spokeswoman said there was no clear link between the deaths.

"There are as many similarities between the cases as there are differences," she said.

"Both bodies were dismembered, both involved children and both were found in water.

Searching for link

"However, the case in London involved a boy, who was black, whereas the case in Holland featured a girl, who was white."

"Dutch officers are here in London, and at this stage they are working with detectives here to find out whether there is a link between the cases," the spokeswoman added.

Police have been investigating the killing of the girl, whose dismembered body was found in a lake at Nulbe, since August.

The girl's head was found that month by a fisherman in the Hook of Holland.

German instructions

The boy's body - minus the head, arms and legs - was spotted by a member of the public crossing Tower Bridge last Friday.

He had been wearing orange shorts labelled Kids and Company with German washing instructions printed inside.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Maybanks, from Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Group South, said the body was of a boy of about five.

He said it had been cut up with a sharp-bladed instrument and is thought to have been in the river for between one and 10 days.