A 39-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the murder of Melanie Hall was yesterday released on police bail.

The man, from Wiltshire, had been in custody at a police station in the Avon and Somerset force area since around 5.30pm on Tuesday.

He went voluntarily to the station after he became aware police wished to talk to him.

He was held for around 22 hours, during which time he was questioned in connection with Melanie's murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Bevan, of the murder inquiry team, said: "We had good reason to arrest this man and to hold him for questioning. There was no requirement to keep him in custody for any longer. He is now on bail and may be spoken to again as part of our continuing investigation.

"I once again urge anyone with information to come forward and provide us with the information and evidence we need to identify Melanie's killer or killers and bring them to justice.

"Please contact the murder incident room on 0117 945 5811 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111"

Melanie, who lived with her parents Pat and Steve in the village of Bradford Leigh, near Bradford on Avon, was last seen on the dance floor of Cadillacs nightclub in Walcot Street, Bath, in the early hours of June 9, 1996 – she was 25.

Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest investigations in the West's history. It appeared – until her remains were discovered bound and dumped in a black bag at the side of the M5 at Thornbury last October – that the case would be forever unsolved.

But that discovery gave the murder inquiry new impetus.

When she was found, her body had been stripped of all clothing and jewellery except, bizarrely, a treasured ring given to her by her grandmother, which was left on her finger and proved, 13 years later, to be the key to identifying Melanie.

On July 1, a 38-year-old Bath man was also arrested on suspicion of her murder and disappearance, and was later released on bail.