Dutch police have arrested a young woman on suspicion of killing three of her newborn babies shortly after their births over an eight-year period.

Regional police commissioner Wim van Essen said the 25-year-old woman was detained after a neighbour noticed her pregnancies but never saw any children.

The woman initially claimed to have given her children up for adoption but on investigation police said they found three suitcases containing human remains in her attic.

The woman lived in the tiny village of Nij Beets, 90 miles north of Amsterdam.

In France last month a woman was arrested on suspicion of suffocating eight of her newborns.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.