UK police granted more time to quiz landlord in Joanna Yeates probe

British police were today granted extra time to question the landlord of Joanna Yeates, who is being held on suspicion of her murder.

Officers can now quiz Chris Jefferies until around 6pm this evening when they have the option of applying for a further extension.

Retired public school teacher Mr Jefferies, 65, was arrested yesterday at his flat directly above the basement Victorian property he rented to the 25-year-old landscape architect and her boyfriend Greg Reardon, 27.

The bachelor’s arrest came just 24 hours after he claimed he had seen three people leave Miss Yeates’ flat in Canynge Road, in the upmarket area of Clifton, Bristol, on the night she vanished.

Neighbours have described Mr Jefferies, who sports a distinctive mane of straggly white hair, as a “nutty professor type” who was active in his community – playing a prominent role in his local Neighbourhood Watch group.

He taught English at Clifton College, just yards from his flat, from the early 1970s before taking early retirement in 2001.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset police said the extension was applied for and granted at around 12pm last night.