Diepsloot: South African police arrest five over murder of toddlers found dead in toilet

Angry protesters have gathered outside of the police station demanding the suspects be handed over to them

Protesters demonstrate in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, after five people were arrested for the rape and murder of two toddlers in a shantytown (GETTY)

South African police say they have arrested five men for the rape and murder of two toddlers whose bodies were found in a township toilet three days after they were reported missing.

The case has prompted angry protests by residents in the area where the slain children were found.

The mutilated bodies of the two girls aged three and two were discovered in a public toilet in the Johannesburg township of Diepsloot on Tuesday.

A man described by local media as the prime suspect was arrested overnight in another Johannesburg township after police issued an identikit picture and offered a 100,000 rand (£6,300) reward.

Angry protesters burning tyres outside of the local police station called for the suspect to be handed over to them so they could question him. Police responded by firing rubber bullets at the crowd.

The man is expected to be charged on Monday. Four other suspects face charges of kidnap, rape and murder, the South African Press Association reported on Friday.

The densely populated Diepsloot settlement is a shanty town where approximately half of the residents are unemployed.

President Jacob Zuma has condemned the killings, but urged residents not to take the law into their own hands.

Additional reporting by Associated Press