POLICE have revealed that a young mum found dead in her Hampshire flat suffered several stab wounds to the neck.

A post-mortem carried out by a Home Office pathologist at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester revealed that Kirsty O'Connell died of multiple stab wounds and compression to the neck.

Provisional post-mortem results show her four-year-old son Patrick, known as PJ, died as a result of asphyxia, although detectives are awaiting the results of further tests.

Officers were today still questioning a 64-year-old man, thought to be Kirsty's partner, on suspicion of double murder.

Kirsty, 21, and PJ were found dead in the flat in Woolford Close, Winchester, late on Friday.

Forensic teams spent yesterday searching the flat.

They were joined by police dog teams for a fingertip search of the surrounding area and communal rubbish bins at the block of flats in the Stanmore area.

Friends and relatives also visited the block of flats to lay flowers and tributes near the entrance to the building.

Police are not sure how long the bodies had been there, but the indications were that it was a matter of days and not weeks.

A team of 40 officers from across Hampshire are involved in the investigation which is being run by the major crime department in Basingstoke.

They were called to the home at around 11pm on Friday night where police officers forced entry to the property and discovered the bodies.

The alarm had been raised by concerned members of the dead woman's family.