Sian Blake: Partner held in Ghana over EastEnders actress's murder

Image copyrightBBC pictures

Image captionArthur Simpson-Kent was arrested hidden amongst some rocks along the coast of Ghana

The partner of a former EastEnders actress who was murdered alongside her two young sons has been arrested in Ghana.

Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, was detained earlier, two days after the Ghanaian police began their hunt for him.

The bodies of Sian Blake, 43, Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, were discovered in the garden of their London home on Tuesday.

The family had been reported missing on 16 December.

Image copyrightMet Police

Image captionSian Blake played Frankie Pierre in the BBC One soap between 1996 and 1997

BBC correspondent Alastair Leithead, who is in Ghana, said Mr Simpson-Kent was arrested in a coastal area popular with tourists and had been cutting a coconut when armed police surrounded him.

"Around 10 police officers went down to the beach where he was spotted hiding amongst some rocks and the police, who were all armed, called out to him," he said.

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Media captionThe BBC's Alastair Leithead reports from the "remote cove" where Arthur Simpson-Kent was found

"He gave himself up and they found that he had a knife on him, but he didn't use it in a threatening way.

"He was then taken to a nearby village where police thanked the people who had informed them he was in this area."

Mr Leithead said the arrest involved Met and Ghanaian Police as well as officers from Interpol.

Mr Simpson-Kent had been spotted by a fisherman swimming in a remote cove, but it was a cafe owner who raised the alarm after recognising the image circulating of him on social media.

Many in the area had also celebrated the New Year with him, before discovering he was wanted by police.

Image copyrightBlake Family

Image captionZachary, eight, and four year old Amon were last seen on 13 December with their mother

Image captionSian Blake played Frankie Pierre in EastEnders in 1996 and 1997

The Met Police said it had been "made aware of an arrest in Ghana" and was "working alongside the Ghanaian authorities but is not in a position to discuss further at this time".

Mr Simpson-Kent, the children's father, arrived in Ghana on 19 December, with the country's police force becoming involved in the hunt for him on Thursday.

Ghanaian Police had initially been sent to the Cape Coast in the south of the country - where the extended Simpson family is from - as well as to other parts of the Atlantic shoreline.

Ms Blake and the couple's sons had not been seen at their south-east London home since 13 December and a missing persons inquiry launched on 16 December, after the NSPCC had raised concerns about their welfare.

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