Suspect 'stopped twice by police in red light area' during Suffolk Strangler murder spree

Police stopped "Suffolk Strangler" suspect Steve Wright twice during his murder spree but let him go each time, a court heard yesterday.

Two prostitutes had already gone missing and officers had set up a roadblock to quiz motorists passing through Ipswich's red light zone on the night of November 20, 2006.

It was three weeks after Tania Nicol had disappeared and Wright was pulled over and shown a picture of the 19-year-old, but said he did not recognise her, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

The 49-year-old forklift driver was asked a list of standard questions by PC Kerry Rumbelow who checked whether he had been in the area between 10pm and 6am the night Miss Nicol went missing.

Wright who was in his blue Ford Mondeo with his partner Pamela Wright, replied: "Possibly", she said.

When asked if he seen anything unusual or had any information about prostitution in the area, he replied, "No", she added.

Wright was stopped again by two police officers at around 12.50am on December 1 after he was seen driving "noticeably slowly" in the red light area.

Again he was allowed free and is accused of going on to murder three more women.

PC Alisa Newman and PC Justin Wood were in a police van when they followed Wright from London Road into Portman Road and pulled him over in Civic Drive.

PC Wood said: "The vehicle was driving slowly. It had a single male occupant which was a trigger for myself to follow it and see what the driver was doing in the area.

"He said he couldn't sleep and was going for a drive. I gave him advice about the red light area and told him the reason I had stopped him."

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PC Wood said Wright claimed that he did not know it was a red light area during their ten minute conversation.

The officer said he told Wright that he might be reported for kerb crawling if he was seen driving in the area again.

Wright denies murdering Miss Nicol, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29.

Their bodies were found at remote locations around Ipswich in December 2006.

The trial also heard how Wright was seen regularly washing and vacuuming his car outside his home at 79 London Road, Ipswich.

Daniel Boote who lives on the opposite side of the road, said he saw a man - believed to be Wright - using a hose to clean a Ford Mondeo and "paying particular attention" to the wheels and wheel arches.

Mr Boote told the court how he looked again around 30 minutes later and saw the man was still scrubbing the wheels and wheel arches.

Another neighbour Alfred Smith, a gardener, said he twice saw Wright vacuuming the inside of his car before 7.30am on two separate days.

Mr Smith recalled that he thought it odd that someone was vacuuming a car at that time of the morning.

Gordon Lawrence who lived next door said he regularly saw Wright cleaning his car, on one occasion after 7pm when it was dark.

He said: "I remember looking out of my landing window when it was very dark and thinking it was a very strange time to wash your car."

Timothy Langdale QC, defending, suggested that the incident might have happened in the morning, but Mr Lawrence insisted he was not mistaken.

He said: "It was clearly at night time. I remember distinctly. I have a vivid recollection because I thought it was so strange." The trial continues today.