POLICE were today beginning to question double murders suspect Mark Hobson.

He was dramatically arrested in a field near York, after a massive week-long manhunt.

Hobson, 34, is understood to have been taken to Harrogate District Hospital with an abdominal injury, hours after police swooped on the village of Shipton-by Beningbrough, north-west of York.

The arrest followed a tip-off from a petrol station owner.

Hobson is expected to be quizzed over the deaths of his former girlfriend, Claire Sanderson, 27, and her twin, Diane.

Their bodies were found at his flat in Camblesforth, near Selby, last Sunday.

Police will also question him about the killings of James Britton, 80, and his wife, Joan, 82, found stabbed to death at their home in Strensall, near York.

The search for Hobson ended at 3.43pm yesterday, when 78-year-old Derek North phoned police moments after Hobson visited his filling station to buy matches, cigarette papers and water.

Officers descended on the area, sealing off the A19 and surrounding roads, before Hobson was detained in a field.

He was driven away in an armoured van, flanked by a convoy of patrol cars.

It is thought he had been sleeping rough in and around the village and may have been hiding in a barn.

Robin Wilson, 32, who works at an upholstery firm next to the garage, said he also called police, seconds after recognising Hobson from posters.

He said: "He looked scruffy and was wearing dirty jeans. He didn't say anything. He was just looking at his shoes.

"He didn't look to be all there; he was obviously in difficulty."

Det Supt Javad Ali, who is leading the inquiry into the murders, said: "The thoughts of all of us are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives."

Eyewitnesses in Shipton- by-Beningbrough said Hobson, a father-of-one, had been seen loitering in the village this week.

Eric Roberts, 57, said: "I was going to the post office on Wednesday about 7am when I saw this guy in army fatigues. He had short, cropped hair and was unshaven.

"I remember thinking at the time maybe it was him, but thought no-one would be stupid enough to use a shop in those circumstances.

"He looked like he had been sleeping rough. I know other people in the village had also spoken about seeing a man hanging around."