Two held over 1967 schoolboy murder

Detectives investigating the murder of a 12-year-old boy 39 years ago have made two new arrests.

Schoolboy Keith Lyon was found repeatedly stabbed on a bridle path in an area known as Happy Valley, between the villages of Ovingdean and Woodingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex, in 1967.

One of the biggest murder investigations ever mounted by Sussex Police was launched in the wake of the murder.

The inquiry led to more than 80,000 home visits being made and more than 6,000 fingerprints of local schoolboys taken.

Although there were a number of suspects, no-one has ever been charged in connection with the case.

On Monday, Sussex Police disclosed that a 55-year-old man from Manchester and a 56-year-old man from Brighton were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of Keith's murder.

Both suspects have been released on police bail until Tuesday, November 14, a police spokesman said.

It was on Saturday May 6, 1967 when Keith decided to visit his local shop to buy a geometry set while his mother, Valda, and her youngest son Peter, then aged seven, stayed at home.

Her husband Kenneth, a professional musician, later set off for a concert at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton. It was he who first received news of Keith's murder.

Keith's body was found on a path across the Sussex Downs half way to the shops at Woodingdean at about 4.15pm. He had been stabbed 11 times in the chest, back and abdomen with a serrated kitchen knife.