A 48-YEAR-OLD man was charged last night with murdering five prostitutes.

Steve Wright, of Ipswich, is accused of killing the women, whose bodies were found in isolated locations earlier this month.

Detectives said a 37-year-old man, named by sources as Tom Stephens, had been released on police bail without charge, pending further inquiries after being questioned about the murders.

Mr Wright - who was once married to Hartlepool woman Diane Cole - was arrested by at his home by police on Tuesday.

Detectives said he would appear before magistrates in Ipswich today.

Detectives launched a murder inquiry on December 2 when the body of Gemma Adams, 25, was found.

Over the next ten days, the bodies of Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, North-East woman Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, were discovered.

Mr Stephens was arrested at his home in Trimley St Martin, Suffolk, early on Monday.

Police did not want to say when he would be required to return to a police station for further questioning.

News of the murder charges was announced by Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, who has headed the investigation, at a media conference at Suffolk police headquarters.

The Crown Prosecution Service's senior prosecutor, Michael Crimp, said: "As this case has developed, we have been carefully examining and assessing the evidence.

"This evening, we have made the decision that there is sufficient evidence and authorised that Steven Wright should be charged with murder."

He reminded journalists about the need for care in reporting events surrounding the case, adding: "Steven Wright stands accused of these offences and has a right to a fair trial."

Earlier, senior detectives and lawyers spent the day analysing evidence gathered as the time left to question two suspects ticked away.

Forensic teams were spending another day examining the homes of the two men, as more than 500 officers worked on the investigation.

Officers from more than 30 forces are involved in the inquiry - which is one of the biggest seen in the UK.

They are analysing more than 10,000 pieces of information after public appeals and checking more than 10,000 hours of security camera footage seized in and around Ipswich.

Mr Stephens, who worked at a Tesco store near Ipswich, was a former Norfolk special constable and a former taxi driver.

Mr Wright, who ran a pub in Norwich in the late 1980s, worked as a forklift-truck driver until a few months ago. In recent weeks he is thought to have been working in a foundry.

All five women were found dead near villages south of Ipswich. All worked as prostitutes in Ipswich. Police said they were all found naked, although they had not been sexually assaulted.