The murdered prostitutes — (from left) Gemma Adams , Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls

London, Dec. 12: Police in the idyllic English county of Sussex fear a serial killer is on the loose after the murder within days of each other of three young sex workers.

Another two who also worked in the red light district in the city of Ipswich are missing.

For some reason, after America, Britain tops the world league table of serial killers, defined as people “who commit three or more murders over an extended period of time with cooling-off periods in between.

“There is often — but not always — a sexual element to the murders. All the murders must be completed or attempted in a similar fashion or the victims must have something in common, such as occupation, race or sex.”

It is likely that police will now seek the help of “criminal profilers”, such as Professor David Canter, of Liverpool University, one of the leading academics in Britain in the field of “investigative psychology”.

He told The Telegraph today: “It so happens I am working at the moment with a very senior police officer from India, where there is a real need for investigative psychology.”

Experts like Canter can help the police by profiling the kind of person they are looking for, thereby allowing officers to make the best use of their resources.

On the latest killings in Suffolk, Canter said: “The post mortems are still going on. There is very little information about these murders.”

There is mounting fear in Ipswich where Jacqui Cheer, assistant chief constable of Suffolk, has warned prostitutes to stay off the streets: “My message to you is simple — stay off the streets. If you are out alone at night, you are putting yourself in danger.”

In the current spate of murders, the first body found in a stream in Hintlesham, near Ipswich, on December 2, was that of Gemma Adams, 25, who vanished in the early hours of November 15.

Her body was naked as was that of Tania Nicol, 19, who disappeared from the same red light district of Ispwich on October 30 and was found by police divers in a pond in nearby Copdock on December 8.

On Monday, the situation turned grimmer when a motorist spotted a body in woods in Nacton, Suffolk. She has been identified as Anneli Alderton, a 24-year-old prostitute.

More than 100 police, now working on the case which has gripped Britain, say they are also worried about the safety of two other sex workers, Paula Clennell, 24, who has not been seen since last Saturday, and Annette Nicholls, 29, who has been missing since December 4. Late tonight, police said two more bodies, believed to be those of the missing prostitutes, had been found.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, who is heading the inquiry, said that the discovery of the third body was a “deeply disturbing development”.

“While we can’t formally link the discovery of the body at Nacton with the two murders, the facts speak for themselves.”