Give the police your DNA or face investigation

Residents of Walthamstow have been given a choice by police : Surrender your DNA to us, or face an investigation.

Police have decreed that residents of nearly 10,000 homes in Walthamstow will have to submit their DNA to the police, or they will be investigated by the police in connection with several murders.

Murder squad detectives have been drafted in from all over London to help complete the canvassing of houses within a 3.4 mile-wide perimeter in Walthamstow, East London.

Police have said that residents who do not surrender their DNA will face further investigation.

Police have not said for how long the samples will be stored, or for what purposes they may be used.