MURDER hunt detectives seeking the killer of a Cleveland prostitute have issued a blunt warning to lorry drivers: the gloves are off.

Police say they are set to call at the homes of truckers who have been linked with the red light area where Miss Vicky Glass worked.

Despite appeals for the men to come forward and be eliminated from inquiries, officers have met a wall of silence.

The naked body of Miss Glass, aged 21, was found last November, dumped on the North York moors near Danby - 20 miles from where she was last seen six weeks earlier in Middlesbrough town centre. Her clothes have never been found.

Det Insp Derek Carter said police have names, registration numbers, phone numbers and other details on clients of vice girls working in Middlesbrough. Many are lorry drivers from Yorkshire and Humberside.

"We have given them every opportunity to get in touch," said Det Insp Carter. "Many have wives, partners and girlfriends. The last thing we wanted to do was cause embarrassment.But our patience has now run out and the gloves are off.

"We will call on them, if necessary at their homes. We know the likely consequences of such a visit but we have tried to get these people to come forward. Now the onus is on us to seek them out."

Miss Glass's friend, Marissa, aged 28, said it was known she had a lorry driver boyfriend and would sometimes go off with him for up to a week at a time.