A 16-year-old boy from Colchester has appeared in court charged with the murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Chelmsford Magistrates Court this morning.

Detectives investigating the deaths said the teenager has been charged on the authority of the Crown Prosecution Service.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday.

He was arrested on the Salary Brook Trail, in Colchester, just after 11am on Tuesday, on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.

Following enquiries by detectives he was further arrested on suspicion of the murders of James and Nahid.

Det Chief Supt Steve Worron, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "We have received excellent backing throughout the investigations into both James and Nahid’s deaths from the whole community in Colchester and I would like to thank them all again for their continued support.

"We are continuing our enquiries and if anyone believes they have any information relating to either James or Nahid’s deaths I would ask them to contact us as soon as possible.”

James Attfield was murdered in March last year. The 33-year-old, also known as Jim, was found on the Riverside Path in Colchester in the early hours of March 29, with more than 100 stab wounds to his body.

Nahid Almanea, a student at the University of Essex, was murdered on June 17 on the Salary Brook Trail in Colchester as she walked from her student accommodation in nearby Woodrow Way to the university complex in Wivenhoe.

The 31-year-old is believed to have been attacked at around 10.40am and died as a result of stab wounds.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.