MURDER suspect Mark Hobson was today discharged from hospital to be quizzed by police investigating the double murders of twin sisters and an elderly couple.

Hobson was led handcuffed and covered in a blanket as he left, flanked by four police officers, from a side door at Harrogate District Hospital at 7.20am.

He was wearing a fawn long-sleeved top and blue jeans, which had been given to him by the hospital.

Hobson, 34, who had been receiving treatment for dehydration and minor grazes since his arrest on Sunday, was taken in a police van, flanked by two police cars, to Harrogate Police station.

He was due to be questioned by detectives in connection with the murders of James Britton, 80, and his wife, Joan, 82, at Strensall, and twins Claire and Diane Sanderson, aged 27, at Cambleforth, near Selby.

Hospital spokeswoman Gillian Neild said: "He has been monitored around the clock, and the decision was made overnight that he was fit and well to be discharged this morning.

"He has had the same level of care as any other patient, and we have tried to keep life in hospital as normal as possible."

Following Hobson's arrest on Sunday, police officers had 24 hours to question him, but this period was suspended around one hour after his arrest when he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital for treatment. The clock has now been restarted, giving officers an estimated 23 hours to interview him.

After this, with permission from relevant authorities he can be held for up to 48 hours more before being charged or released.

Meanwhile, a store owner who helped lead police to Mark Hobson said he could have been inches away from where the fugitive lay hidden.

Robin Wilson, who runs Oakdale Upholstery, at Shipton-by-Beningbrough, said Hobson hid in bushes behind his shop.

The bushes form a screen around a septic tank at the back of Mr Wilson's store.

It is to these bushes that Hobson fled when police swooped after the alarm was raised at Derek North's neighbouring garage on the A19 on Sunday.

Mr Wilson said: "It's pretty scary to think I could have been inches away from where he was hiding out."

Updated: 10:32 Tuesday, July 27, 2004