PSNI given more time to question man over Sean Small murder

Police discovered Sean Small's body at about 22:30 BST outside a house on Slievenabrock Avenue on Sunday evening

Police have been granted more time to question a man arrested after the murder of Sean Small in Newcastle.

The pensioner, 84, was murdered last week and his body was found outside his home at Slievenabrock Avenue in Newcastle late on Sunday night.

Detectives have been granted an additional 36 hours to question a man in his 40s who was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Small was last seen alive on the afternoon of Tuesday 19 August, five days before his body was discovered.

A cordon remains in place in Slievenabrock Avenue in Newcastle

The timeline between the last confirmed sighting of the victim and the discovery of his body is a central focus in the ongoing murder investigation.

The police have appealed for assistance from anyone in the local community who noticed anything "suspicious or out of the ordinary" between Tuesday of last week and Sunday night.

Small was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for sexual offences.

In 2022, he pleaded guilty to 10 sexual offences against a woman described as "vulnerable" and a teenage girl.

He was sentenced to three years in prison and three years under supervision in the community.

The police have declined to say if they are investigating a possible link between Sean Small's offences and his murder.