Suspected Hawker killer has 'facelift'

The man Japanese police are hunting in connection with the murder of Briton Lindsay Hawker is believed to have undergone plastic surgery to evade capture.

Detectives say Tatsuya Ichihashi, who has been on the run for almost three years, may now have a thicker jaw, lower eyebrows and a protruding bottom lip.

He is accused of killing 22-year-old English teacher before leaving her body in a bathtub full of sand at his flat in Tokyo.

It is thought Ichihashi, 30, paid for cheek implants and lip-thinning treatment in an operation a fortnight ago.

Miss Hawker, from Brandon, near Coventry, was last seen on March 25 2007 with Ichihashi before she was found dead.

In a statement, the family said they were receiving reports from Japan that Ichihashi had undergone surgery of some sort in both Nagoya and Osaka but "none of the reports have been confirmed".