DETECTIVES were last night questioning a man arrested in connection with the murder of Teesside prostitute Vicky Glass.

The 47-year-old man was questioned for several hours about the killing of the vice girl, whose naked body was found dumped on moorland more than a year ago.

The man, who is thought to be from the northern part of North Yorkshire, was arrested after police carried out searches of several homes in the county. He was led away from his home to be interviewed early yesterday morning.

Vicky, 21, was missing from her home town of Middlesbrough for six weeks before her remains were found by a man walking his dog at a remote beauty spot near the village of Danby, on the North York Moors.

The team of detectives working on the case travelled to Northallerton to interview the man at the town's police station.

Vicky, whose addiction to heroin forced her into prostitution, disappeared from outside the Shipmate pub, in Middlesbrough, in November 2000.

The investigation into her killing has become one of Cleveland Police's longest-running inquiries, largely because of the wall of silence that greeted detectives' appeals for public help.

Other prostitutes in the area were said to be fearful for their own lives in the wake of Vicky's brutal killing. Items of clothing removed from her body are yet to be found.

Last year, the inquiry was extended beyond Teesside to target Vicky's regular clients from throughout Yorkshire, particularly lorry drivers.

A friend later revealed that she and Vicky were preparing to start a new life in Birmingham just days before her disappearance.

Only brief details about yesterday's arrest were released by police.

A spokeswoman said last night: "The man was taken from his North Yorkshire home to Northallerton police station where he is still being held. As part of the operation, officers from Cleveland Police have searched a number of properties in the North Yorkshire area."