Babe in the Woods murder victim Nicola Fellows' father has been arrested in connection with the rape of his dead daughter.

Barrie Fellows, 59, was arrested between 7am and 8am this morning at his home in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

A 44-year-old man, thought to be family friend Dougie Judd, of Brighton, was also arrested at the same time in a joint operation by Sussex and Cheshire Police.

The arrests relate to one offence of rape and one offence of conspiracy to rape involving Nicola Fellows - one of the two 10-year-old victims of the Wild Park murders in 1986.

The men were questioned in Brighton and Cheshire while police search their homes.

A spokesman from Sussex Police said the pair had now been bailed "pending futher enquiries" until June 18.

This child abuse investigation, which is being led by DCI Adam Hibbert of Sussex Police's Major Crime Branch, is quite distinct from the ongoing unresolved inquiry into the deaths, commonly known as the 'Babes in the Wood' murders.

However, he said this could change "in light of whatever we find out today".

He said: "We will do a mature assessment of what we know now compared to what we knew before.

"At the moment there is no information or evidence to link the two to the murders."

Nicola Fellows, ten, was found strangled to death with Karen Hadaway, nine on October 10, 1986.

Labourer Russell Bishop was acquitted of their murder the following year.

In 1991, he was jailed for life for the kidnap and sexual assault of a seven-year-old Brighton girl.

Police are appealing for anyone with information that may assist this latest investigation to contact Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999 quoting Operation Iford.