Man arrested on suspicion of sex attacks on more than 100 elderly people

UK detectives hunting the "nightstalker" - one of Britain's most wanted serial rapists - today arrested a 52-year-old man.

The Metropolitan Police launched Operation Minstead to investigate more than 100 attacks on the elderly in the south London area dating back to the 1990s.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm a 52-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of this morning in a pre-planned operation.

"He is currently in custody at a London police station."

Earlier this month, the Met Police revealed detectives have obtained more than 2,000 DNA samples from suspects as part of the 12-year inquiry at a cost of £102,700 (€115,015).

A team of 29 police officers and staff based at Lewisham police station are investigating sex attacks on men and women aged between 68 and 93 as part of Operation Minstead.

The incidents took place in clusters in south and south-east London, including Dulwich, Orpington, Norwood, Downham, Lee, Croydon, West Wickham and Bickley.

The "night stalker" has eluded detectives despite facing a huge range of police tactics, from surveillance to the offer of a £40,000 (€44,800) reward.

The criminal has a distinctive pattern of behaviour, often disabling telephone lines and fuse boxes before breaking into the homes of vulnerable people.

Some of the victims were raped and sexually assaulted.

Their attacker was often described as wearing a mask and waking people by shining a torch in their faces.

Police said victims' ordeals sometimes went on for hours.

The total number of raids linked to the man labelled the "nightstalker" during his 19-year reign of terror is at least 108.

The most recent suspected linked burglaries took place in June.

Police said they believed the culprit was thought to be an employed black man, who masked his crimes behind the veneer of a respectable life.

Although the vast majority of victims have been women, police said they also included 10 elderly men, one of whom suffered a sexual attack.

In 2006, detectives flew to Trinidad to make an appeal for information after forensic techniques from DNA suggested the attacker originated from the Windward Islands.

Sky News reported tonight that the man was arrested returning to a car in the Brockley area where he lives with his disabled wife.

It added that detectives had been able to identify the make and model of his car and were lying in wait when he returned to it.

It is believed that further attacks have taken place over the past four months that detectives have not publicly linked to the Operation Minstead inquiry.

One source said tonight: "They have kept the latest developments in this case extremely tight. There was concern the suspect would go to ground as a result of publicity around the case."

Sky News added that according to one detective the attacker had become "blasé", committing up to five attacks in one night.

He has been so prolific recently that the number of crimes he has committed might be closer to 200 than 100, the broadcaster added.