Tia Sharp case: Man and woman arrested by murder police

Police investigating the disappearance of 12-year-old Tia Sharp have arrested a man and a woman.

Tia was reported missing on 3 August, sparking a huge search effort in Croydon, south London.

A body, which has yet to be identified, was discovered at Tia's grandmother's house in New Addington on Friday.

Stuart Hazell, 37, who is the partner of Tia's grandmother Christine Sharp, is also being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder.

Police revealed a 39-year-old man and a woman aged 46 were also arrested on Friday.

They are being questioned at a south London police station.

The body found at Christine Sharp's home was reportedly removed from the house on Friday evening.

A post-mortem examination is expected in the next few days.

Mr Hazell was detained in Merton, south London, at 20:25 BST after being identified by a member of the public.

Maxine Carter, Tia's aunt, said: "It's the worst living nightmare ever.

Maxine Carter, Tia's aunt: "We are hurting so bad"

"It doesn't end - we are hurting so bad inside."

Despite four police searches it took a week to find the body.

The first search was of Tia's bedroom after she was reported missing, then on Sunday a specialist team searched the property.

On Wednesday another team searched the home, this time using sniffer dogs.

But it was on Friday - a week after her disappearance - the body was found.

Commander Neil Basu, the police chief responsible for south-east London, said: "Clearly there will be many questions about the investigation into Tia's disappearance and I want to take this opportunity to clarify some of the speculation.

"When police investigate cases as difficult and challenging as this, it is important that we do not just focus on one line of inquiry.

"What we now need to establish is how long the body had been in the place where it was found.

"This will be subject of the ongoing investigation and it would be wrong to jump to any conclusions until all the facts have been established."

Candles and flowers have been left outside the home where the body was found.

Nicky Taylor, 46, and Shara Kinsley, 40, lit two candles for Tia.

Ms Taylor said: "She's only a child, it's so sad."

A poem was left with a photo of Tia which described her as "heaven's little angel".