Murder inquiry: man is arrested

POLICE investigating the murder of a pensioner have arrested a man.

Officers launched a murder investigation following the death of Colin Payne, whose son raised the alarm on Father's Day.

The body of Mr Payne, 72, said to be a former postmaster at Porthleven and Ashton, was found on Sunday evening at his flat in Sanctuary Lane.

Police announced on Wednesday that a 53-year-old had been arrested in the Nottingham area in suspicion of murder. He was today being transported to Cornwall for formal interview.

Neighbours said the alarm was raised by Mr Payne's son, concerned that he had not heard from him on Father's Day, as was usual.

A police spokesman said an initial post-mortem examination had failed to establish the cause of death. Police initially said Mr Payne's death was being treated as suspicious and officers leafleted neighbours asking for help.

The spokesman said: "Inquiries have been continuing in relation to this investigation, including continued forensic examination of the scene.

"The deceased can now be formally named as Colin Payne, a 72-year-old local man from Helston. His family have been informed.

"This is now being treated as a murder investigation, with an incident room being run from Camborne police station."

He said officers remained keen to speak to anyone who might have seen Mr Payne between May 31 and last Sunday. Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101 quoting reference 1540 of June 19.