BRITAIN: British police arrested double-murders suspect Mr Mark Hobson last night at a North Yorkshire village service station after a seven day manhunt.
He was reportedly taken to hospital after his arrest with an abdominal injury.
Eyewitnesses said the 34-year-old was recognised by the owner of the petrol station in Shipton-by-Beningbrough as he attempted to buy matches.
The elderly owner alerted police and within minutes officers surrounded the garage and sealed off surrounding roads.
Mr Hobson is said to have immediately confirmed his identity when stopped by police around 4pm. He was taken in an armoured van for questioning over the deaths of four people.
The bodies of his former girlfriend Claire Sanderson (27) and her twin sister Diane were discovered at his flat in Camblesforth, near Selby, a week ago today.
Detectives also want to speak to him in relation to the deaths of pensioners James Britton (80) and his wife Joan (82) who were found at their home in Strensall, hours after the first deaths were discovered. It is thought Mr Hobson has been sleeping rough in North Yorkshire and may have been hiding out in a green barn close to the petrol station on the A19 road prior to his arrest.
Witness Ms Ann Hainsworth said she had seen Mr Hobson on the floor surrounded by police behind buildings close to the garage.
Scientific tests have shown Mr Hobson's girlfriend Claire died sometime between July 11th and July 15th - a number of days before her sister died.
Detectives also believe that Diane left her parents' home at 7.20 p.m. on Saturday, July 17th, shortly after receiving a call from Hobson. It is thought she had been strangled and may have been sexually assaulted.
Mr Hobson is believed to have left his marital home in Selby at the beginning of 1999, where he lived with two of his wife's children from an earlier marriage, whom Mr Hobson adopted, and a daughter they had together.
Ms Kay Hobson (35) who was married to the suspect for five years, said attempts at reconciliation failed and claimed he walked out on the family one New Year's Day. She made an appeal for him to surrender to officers as North Yorkshire Police mounted a nation-wide manhunt with 300 officers dedicated to the case and assistance offered by eight other forces, criminal profilers, and detectives who worked on the Soham murder inquiry.
Around 10,000 flyers, containing a photo and a description of Mr Hobson, were also circulated to race-goers in York and vehicles had images of Hobson emblazoned of their sides in an attempt to encourage the public to report sightings.
Detectives said that Mr Britton, a former British Rail worker, was found dead on the sitting-room floor of his £400,000 home by horrified neighbours and that his wife was discovered in the hallway. Both had been stabbed and beaten and forensic experts have conducted extensive searches at their address.