POLICE have uncovered a body and van in the hunt for missing Wirral boxer Brett Flournoy.

Officers began excavating a remote farmland today and made the discovery earlier today just north of St Austell, Cornwall.

Mr Flournoy and his friend David Griffths disappeared last month and their families had not heard from them since Thursday, June 16.

They were known to have arrived in Cornwall around 7.30pm on June 16 but never arrived at their hotel.

Police arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remains in custody. Detectives said he was known to the two men.

Following the discovery of the body and the van, Detective Inspector Costa Nassaris said: “We believe this is the Citroen Berlingo van we’ve been looking for, although we haven’t been able to positively identify the vehicle at this time as it has extensive fire damage and it’s currently full of soil.

"We also believe we've uncovered the remains of at least one individual. A full forensic examination is now taking place."

The families of both missing men have been updated of the latest developments.

"The forensic examination of the excavation site, the vehicle and body is a slow and painstaking process and is expected to take at least 48 hours before this element of the investigation is completed."

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Police have arrested nine people in connection with the News of the World phone hacking scandal since detectives reopened their investigation earlier this year.

London's Metropolitan Police have launched probes into allegations of the hacking of phone voicemail messages by journalists at the now-closed newspaper, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, and claims that reporters bribed police for information.

Here are details of the arrests:

* Neil Wallis, 60, deputy editor of News of the World when Andy Coulson was editor, was arrested on July 14 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. Wallis, who was previously a deputy editor of the Sun and editor of The People, became executive editor of the News of the World in 2007.

* Andy Coulson, 43, editor of News of the World from 2003 to 2007, then Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief until his recent resignation, was arrested on July 8 on suspicion of corruption and attempting to intercept communications.

* Clive Goodman, 53, former News of the World royal editor, was arrested at his home on July 8 because of allegations that he bribed police for stories. Goodman had previously been jailed for four months in 2007 for writing stories that used information gleaned from phone hacking by private detective Glen Mulcaire.

* An unidentified 63-year-old man, described as a private detective in the media, was arrested in Surrey on July 8 on suspicion of corruption.

* Laura Elston, a 34-year-old reporter for the British Press Association news agency, was arrested on June 27 on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages. She was the first person not to have worked for the News of the World to be arrested.

* A 39-year-old woman, who the BBC and national newspapers said they believed to be Terenia Taras, was arrested at her home in Yorkshire on June 24 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. Media said Taras was a freelance journalist who contributed to the News of the World until 2006 and the ex-girlfriend of Greg Miskiw, a former assistant editor at the paper.

* James Weatherup, 55, a senior News of the World reporter, was arrested on April 14 on suspicion of conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications and unlawful interception of mobile phones. Weatherup was news editor of the News of the World between 2004 and 2006, when Coulson was editor.

* Neville Thurlbeck, 50, the News of the World's chief reporter and Ian Edmondson, 42, a former senior editor at the paper, were arrested on April 5 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawful interception of voicemail messages.

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Posted in: Police have arrested nine people in connection with the News of the World phone hacking scandal since detectives reopened their investigation earlier this year.