DETECTIVES investigating North Yorkshire's body-in-a-suitcase mystery have yet to confirm whether they will be interviewing a man arrested in connection with a similar discovery in Hampshire.

The remains of a small, slightly-built Oriental woman, who has still not been identified, were found in a hedge by the side of a country lane on the edge of York in November. The body of a hotel worker in his 20s was found in a suitcase in Basingstoke on Thursday.

In a statement on Friday, police working on the York case emphasised they had yet to turn up any evidence to suggest a link between the two deaths.

However, after an arrest in London late on Saturday night, no one could say yesterday if both inquiry teams would be speaking to the 34-year-old man in custody.

A post-mortem examination on the dead woman found near York failed to establish how she died. The body of the man found in the suitcase left outside Basingstoke railway station, had been hit over the head with a sharp, heavy implement and his body wrapped in black bin liners and a blanket.

Detectives have confirmed the victim was an employee at the nearby Audleys Wood Hotel - which hosts popular murder mystery weekends - although his identity has not yet been released.