Double murder suspect arrested at petrol station

David Stringer

An eyewitness said 34-year-old Hobson was spotted trying to buy matches at a petrol station.

Police were alerted and he was arrested nearby.

Hobson is wanted for questioning over the brutal killings of twin sisters and an elderly couple whose bodies were found a week ago in north Yorkshire.

The bodies of Hobson's girlfriend Claire Sanderson, 27, and twin sister Diane, were found at the suspect's flat in Camblesforth, near Selby, last week.

Hobson is also linked to the deaths of two frail pensioners, James Britton, 80, and his wife Joan, 82, who were found dead at their home in Strensall, just hours after the twins were discovered 25 miles away a week ago.

Witness Ann Hainsworth described the dramatic moment the wife of a filling station owner came running out onto the forecourt and said they had caught Hobson.

Earlier yesterday, Hobson's ex-wife Kate urged him to give himself up to police. "Mark, I urge you to turn yourself in. Many people love you dearly," she said in a recording.

She said his family and friends would be there to support him and that he must contact the police or a solicitor.

Mrs Hobson said his life spiralled out of control when he turned to drink and drugs, and that he suddenly walked out on the family on New Year's Day, 1999, saying that he "didn't want married life any more."

Kate, 35, said: "I shudder to think I married such a man. He was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

"He turned to drink and drugs but all they've done is rot his brain. His life just went completely off the rails."