Fear on the streets after murder

Ed Davey
BBC News, London

Michelle Samaraweera was the third rape victim in Walthamstow this year

As police hunt the suspected serial rapist who murdered Michelle Samaraweera, a climate of fear has descended on the streets of Walthamstow, east London.

This is a raffish part of town where Cockney rhyming slang can still be heard in the bustling market and one of London's last greyhound tracks closed last summer.

But there is only one topic of conversation on the fruit stalls - and as police ask for a DNA samples from the local men, people living in Walthamstow are taking their own precautions.

Until the attacker - thought to be a local resident - is caught, many women are avoiding going out alone or late at night.

We are all very worried about it and we are taking a lot more care Saira Kazmi, beautician

Businesses are booking taxis to get staff home in the evening.

And pubs are putting up signs warning clientele to take care getting home after last orders.

Flossie Parsons is landlady at the Nag's Head pub in Orford Road, Walthamstow - just a stone's throw from the alleyway where a woman was raped on 22 April.

She said: "I was absolutely horrified when I heard what happened.

Warning signs

"I don't walk late at night - I drive everywhere.

"We get cabs for our staff late at night and I have put warning signs in my pub telling our customers to take care late at night. "

Miss Samaraweera's body was discovered in Queens Road Park at 0550 BST on 30 May.

She had been raped and strangled.

Walthamstow is home to a large Muslim community

Detectives are linking it to the rape of a 59-year-old woman in March and a 46-year-old raped in April - both within a mile of the murder spot.

Among the women taking extra precautions is Saira Kazmi, 23, a beautician who works at Styles Ahead beauty shop in Hoe Street.

She said: "We are all very worried about it and we are taking a lot more care.

"I don't go out at night and I have to be with my family.

"I have also warned all my staff about it."

And Claire Hack, 22, a reporter on the local newspaper the Walthamstow Guardian, says that until the killer is caught women in the area will not feel safe.

She said: "As a woman I am very aware of it and less likely to venture out on my own.

"I certainly think people here don't feel as safe as they once did."

'Not the first time'

Her views were echoed by Walthamstow councillor Saima Mahmud. She said: "It is very upsetting.

"This is not the first time someone has been murdered in Walthamstow."

Miss Samaraweera was seen on Somerfield CCTV the night she died

She continued: "Not many women from my community, the Asian Muslim community, would be out at 1am anyway.

"But if people want to pop to the 24-hour Tesco they should feel safe doing that - at the moment some people don't. It's incredibly sad."

The council is holding an emergency meeting with police on Tuesday to discuss what extra precautions can be put in place.

But until the attacker is caught, women in Walthamstow will carry on looking over their shoulders.