Man arrested over fatal stabbing of 83-year-old Peter Wrighton in Norfolk

A man in his 20s is in police custody

Peter Wrighton was fatally stabbed while walking his two dogs near the village of East Harling in Norfolk (PA)

A man has been arrested for the “brutal” fatal stabbing of 83-year-old Peter Wrighton, who was walking his dogs when he was attacked.

Mr Wrighton’s body was found in woodland, three miles from the Norfolk village of East Harling last Saturday.

A post-mortem showed he had been repeatedly stabbed in the head and neck.

Norfolk police said that a man in his 20s from the area was arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday morning and is being held in police custody.

On Friday, detective superintendent Andy Smith said: "We have already heard from more than 220 people, but we will be exploring all avenues in our enquiries and we are still keen to hear from more.

“In particular, we want to be called by or about two different men who were seen in different areas close to the murder scene.”

One is described as white, with a tanned complexion and aged 25-30 years, of an athletic build and was seen wearing grey shorts and heavy-duty flip flops.

The other is described as white, aged 30-50 years old, wearing dark clothing and was seen walking a dog.

The detective superintendant added: “We already know that Peter’s last known sighting was within the Kenninghall Post Office between 10.08am and 10.12am on Saturday, but we still want to hear from anyone who saw him either before that time or after. His car, a red Skoda Fabia, was parked close to The Street – the road close to the heathland where he was walking his dogs Dylan and Gemma.”

Norfolk’s county policing commander, chief superintendent Mike Fawcett, reassured locals the police would support and protect them.

He said: “This is a significant murder investigation for the Constabulary.

“As such, we now have more than 100 officers and staff working on this enquiry with specialist officers from the National Crime Agency and other Forces and partners offering assistance. We have also been using our drone to take images of the scene.

“I can assure local residents that our presence will remain in the area for the foreseeable future and I hope this provides local communities with confidence that we are here to support and protect them.”

Anyone with information should call Norfolk police on 0800 056 0944