A man has been arrested in connection with the seafront rape and murder of a 35-year-old woman.

The suspect was being questioned last night at a custody centre but detectives were remaining tight lipped. Sussex Police would not confirm the arrest but it is understood the suspect was picked up as a result of media publicity.

Meanwhile, police were having trouble tracing relatives of the victim who was found on Eastbourne seafront on Saturday. She was set ablaze and badly burned in the attack but dental records have provided police with her name.

Detectives are trying to plot her movements before and after her last dental treatment in the hope of finding her family. Police were withholding her identity until next of kin have been informed.

It is understood the woman had spent time in Kent and London and had moved to Eastbourne some time last year. Inquiries suggest she was a transient and may have been sleeping rough.

Her killer stabbed her 16 times in the chest and stomach, built a bonfire and set her ablaze to destroy the evidence. Council litter pickers found the body in a thatched shelter at Holywell, east of Beachy Head.

A white tent remained over the sea-facing shelter while police questioned passersby.

A child's double buggy formed part of the bonfire the killer built to burn the body and forensic experts were sifting through the debris for clues.

DNA tests on samples taken from the woman's body and what remained of her clothes were continuing to try and identify the killer.

Police today renewed their appeals to anyone in the area at the time to come forward. Any courting couples there have been promised confidentiality.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony O'Donnell said: "People may think their information is insignificant but it could prove vital to our investigation. This was a macabre and frenzied attack and it is vital we bring the person responsible to justice."

Yesterday, the police presence had been scaled down at Holywell.

Access was open to the lower promenade via all the several small footpaths that lead from King Edward's Parade near St Bede's School, the first time since the grisly find. But police still stood guard at the shelter where the woman's body was discovered.

A sense of shock still pervaded last night among people using the popular seafront walkway, at the far western end of Eastbourne seafront.

Steve Midwinter, 45, of Osbourne Road, Eastbourne, said: "It makes you feel uneasy knowing some mad killer is on the loose. There is obviously a determined police effort to find whoever did it, though, so that makes you feel a bit better.

"But no one can understand why such a thing would happen here in Meads. It's a really pleasant area and everyone is just shocked by it all."

Ivy Morris, 72, of Lower Meads, Eastbourne, said: "It's terrible. The more I learn about it the more I question where society is going. Who on earth could do such a thing? I walk along this footpath almost every day and it makes you shudder to think who might be about."

Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.