POLICE are continuing to question three people about the murder of a mother-of-five who was stabbed to death in the New Forest as she tended to her horses.

Pennie Davis, 47, was found by her husband, Pete, in a field at Beaulieu on Tuesday.

The supermarket worker, from Blackfield, died of multiple stab wounds.

One person was arrested on suspicion of murder, another on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and a third on suspicion of assisting an offender, Hampshire Police said yesterday.

They added that Pennie's family has been informed of the development.

Specialist forensics officers have made fingertip searches of the field and a nearby river and police have also increased patrols in the area to offer reassurance to residents.

Pete, her children and her parents have visited the paddock since the killing, leaving flowers with messages from each member of the family.

A statement released by the family through police said they were devastated by the death of a ''remarkable person'' and ''devoted mother''.