Body of mum found at bottom of Channel Island cliffs as police make first murder arrest since WW2

Body of mum found at bottom of Channel Island cliffs as police make first murder arrest since WW2 Hannah Benfield, 34, was found dead at the bottom of cliffs on the small Channel Island of Alderney early on Monday morning. A 44-year-old man was has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody A murder investigation has been launched after the body of a mum-of-two was found at the base of a cliff. Hannah Benfield, 34, was found dead at the bottom of cliffs on the small Channel Island of Alderney early on Monday morning. Emergency services were called to an area known as The Guns, on the western end of the island, after Guernsey Police were alerted at around 11pm on Sunday. A search and rescue operation was launched with Channel Islands Air Search reporting a sighting of a person at 4:28am on Monday. The mum was later declared dead. A 44-year-old man was has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody. The suspect was initially receiving treatment in hospital, in Alderney, but has since been held in police custody. This murder charge has reportedly been the first such charge on the island since the Second World War. A spokesperson from Guernsey Police said: "Alderney is a small, close-knit community, and the impact of an incident of this nature on a community like that cannot be overstated." Alderney vicar, Mother Samantha Martell, told the BBC that the tragic incident has "shaken" the island's "close-knit community". She said: "What the community needs to do now is really come together, to look after one another. Not to speculate, not to judge, but just to be what we can be, a real community. "Something like this, you read about it and it's always what happens to other people, but we are now other people. It's an absolute tragedy... but I think it will make us stronger as a community and draw us all together." The Channel Island has a resident population of just 2,167 people. This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , Twitter , Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.