Forensics officers are at the former home of double murderer Christopher Halliwell where excavation work is taking place.

The 53-year-old taxi driver murdered Becky Godden, 20, in January 2003 and Sian O'Callaghan, 22, in March 2011.

He was handed a rare whole-life order - meaning he will never be released - at Bristol Crown Court in 2016 after being convicted of Miss Godden's murder.

Following his sentence, police said there was a "distinct possibility" that Halliwell was a serial killer, highlighting the eight-year gap between the murders.

Wiltshire Police began searching the gardens and garages of two properties on Broad Street, where Halliwell lived, in Swindon on Monday morning.

Black tarpaulin has been erected at the site, along with white tents.

Security staff were stationed at each end of the police cordon.

Forensics officers were seen entering and leaving the cordon.

One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, described the street as "quiet".

He said the occupants of number 96 - where Halliwell lived with ex-wife Lisa between 1997 and 2001 - changed frequently.

"The police told me not to worry about what they are doing here," he added.

A local shopkeeper said Halliwell lived at the property years before he started running the business.

"I used to work in a petrol station and he would come in to buy his petrol and diesel," the man said.

"He was quiet, normal."

Halliwell abducted office administrator Miss O'Callaghan as she walked home following a night out in Swindon and dumped her body in Uffington, Oxfordshire.

He then confessed to killing another woman, a prostitute he had picked up from Swindon, had sex with and strangled in January 2003.

The father-of-three led police to a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, where Miss Godden's remains were discovered.

Last year, it emerged that Halliwell had spoken of his desire to become a serial killer in 1985.

In a phone call from prison, he allegedly claimed that officers wished to interview him about eight murders.

Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court last year, Detective Superintendent Sean Memory said: "He talked candidly in 1985 about wanting to be a serial killer and I genuinely believe that's a distinct possibility."