Wright 'could have picked up murdered prostitutes'

A forklift truck driver accused of murdering five prostitutes in the UK, today told jurors that he could have picked up three of the women on the nights they disappeared.

Steve Wright (aged 49), of Ipswich, Suffolk, told Ipswich Crown Court that he could have had sex with Gemma Adams, 25, and Anneli Alderton, 24, on the nights they were last seen.

And Wright said he could have picked up Tania Nicol, 19, on the night she vanished – although he said he did not have sex with the teenager.

Jurors heard that Wright’s car was twice captured by security camera technology on the night Miss Alderton disappeared.

His Ford Mondeo was seen in the red light district of Ipswich at 11.18pm on December 3.

It was spotted again heading out of Ipswich at 1.41am on December 4.

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

The naked bodies of the five women, who all worked as prostitutes in Ipswich, were found at remote locations near the town between December 2 and December 12, 2006.

Detectives launched an inquiry after Miss Nicol vanished on October 30, 2006.