A SIXTH man has been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of a man on a quiet village lane.

And the news comes as a man was due in court today for a second time on a charge of conspiring to murder car dealer Christopher Hartley.

The latest man to be arrested, a 21-year-old, was taken into custody in South Shields, Tyneside, last night.

He was then transported to West Yorkshire for questioning by detectives investigating the death of Mr Hartley.

He is the second man to be arrested in South Shields, after a 39-year-old was picked up there on Monday.

That suspect was brought to West Yorkshire on Tuesday for questioning on suspicion of murder.

Police were given more time to talk to him last night.

Mr Hartley, 45, from Hill Top in Tingley, near Batley, was found dead with gunshot wounds at Litherop Lane in High Hoyland, near Clayton West, on the evening of September 8.

Last Friday 35-year-old David Large, from Tingley, went before Huddersfield magistrates charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Hartley.

It is alleged Mr Large, of Broadcroft Drive in Tingley, conspired to murder Mr Hartley between January 1 this year and the night of his death.

He was due to appear at Bradford Crown Court today for a preliminary hearing.

A 44-year-old man from Wakefield, a 41-year-old man from Morley and a 51- year-old from Leeds, who were also arrested, remain on bail pending further police enquiries.