Four arrested over burnt body of girl

Police arrested four people yesterday in connection with the murder of a 17-year-old girl whose body was found burning by the side of a country road in Essex.

Debra Carne's body was discovered late on Sunday. Just over a month ago another body was found in Essex in similar circumstances. A post-mortem examination yesterday showed that Debra, who was unemployed and from Sible Hedingham, Essex, died from asphyxiation.

A police spokesman said last night that four people, in their late teens and early 20s, had been arrested.

Two farm workers came across a small blaze among tinder-dry bushes just after 10.30pm, about a mile from the quiet village of Castle Hedingham. At first they thought it had been started by the intense heat over the weekend. But as they beat down the flames they found the body, which had probably been doused in petrol.

On 26 June, the remains of Richard Corbett, 32, were found on fire in a lay-by near Witham, which is about 15 miles from Castle Hedingham. He had been strangled and his body dumped. Two men have been charged with concealment of the body.

At the Bell Inn pub in Castle Hedingham yesterday the discovery was the main topic of conversation. Penny Doe, the landlady, said: "People are in shock and have been ringing their friends and family to check that no one is missing. We can't believe it's happened here. Everyone is just open-mouthed about it.''

Local residents suspect that whoever dumped the body is not from the area because the road where it was found is a popular shortcut between villages. Police had cordoned off the area yesterday and erected a small tent around the body.

The nearest homes are several hundred yards away. The residents at one house, whose family have lived in the normally peaceful area for three generations, said that they would not let the murder affect them. A man who did not want to give his name said: "You would never sleep at night if you thought about it. This is a very low crime area and we are not going to lay awake in bed at night feeling frightened.

"Our only worry is that the police stations around here are only part-time and if there was an emergency, police could have to come from 20 miles away."