'Sarah suspect's arrest was illegal'

Roy Whiting, the man accused of killing Sarah Payne, was arrested unlawfully for a second time as detectives had no more evidence than the first time he was taken into custody, a court heard today.

Whiting's lawyer Gill McGivern wrote in the police custody book after the second arrest in July last year: "Any questions hereafter against this background of unlawful detention would be oppressive." She told Whiting to answer "No comment" to any question by officers.

She later dropped an application claiming that the arrest was unlawful.

Lewes Crown Court was shown items of clothing that linked Whiting to the murdered eightyearold. Shane Gething told the court how a red sweatshirt, checked padded shirt and a clown-patterned curtain were in a white van sold to Whiting.

On day eight of the trial, Mr Gething, a former employee of the man who sold Whiting the van, was shown photographs of the sweatshirt that later became one of the most crucial clues in the hunt for Sarah's killer. A single strand of the girl's hair was found on the sweatshirt when examined by forensic experts.

The court heard how Mr Gething recognised the sweatshirt and the child's curtain, which he said was used to pad out the front seat of the van.

But the court also heard from Kevin Bruce, another former employee of the man who sold the van to Whiting. He claimed that the checked shirt found in the vehicle was his. Mr Bruce said: "I am 99 per cent sure that was my shirt in the boot." He added that he recognised the shirt by the rips on the shoulder and on the back.

A fibre from the curtain in the van was found on one of Sarah's black shoes which was spotted near where her body was dumped in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex. The shoe was the only item of Sarah's clothing police ever found.

Whiting, 42, formerly of St Augustine Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, denies the kidnap and murder of Sarah, from Hersham, Surrey.

The trial continues.