Murder suspect held at Beachy Head

A woman was talked out of throwing herself from Beachy Head and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murdering her estranged husband.

Sally Challen, 56, from Claygate, Surrey, allegedly murdered her husband, Richard, before driving 70 miles to the East Sussex cliff top and threatening to throw herself off. During a tense three-hour stand-off with specialist officers, she is said to have told them she had killed Mr Challen, before being persuaded to leave the edge of the 530ft drop.

The couple are believed to have separated at the end of last year. Mr Challen, a retired car dealer, was found dead by officers on Sunday. He received a 51-week suspended prison term in 2006 when he crashed his Ferrari at a racetrack in Belgium then invented a hit-and-run accident to claim £35,000 for repairs. The businessman said his wife had forgotten to send a fax to his insurers to get cover for the event.

Neighbours said Mrs Challen was upset by her husband's affairs and said she had moved out of their £1m house, which is in the same street as the home of Ronnie Wood.

Surrey Police confirmed that a woman was arrested in connection with the death of a man in his sixties at a large detached house in Ruxley Ridge, near Esher.