A furious mob attacked the alleged killer of a transgender prostitute who picked them up for a gang bang before chaining a dumbbell to their neck and throwing them into a canal.

Yutthaphon Piyawittayakan, 36, was arrested on Thursday evening shortly after the body of Piyada Sornkul, 29, was found floating in a waterway in Pathum Thani, Thailand, on November 24.

Police found that Piyada had suffered a number of blows to her head before she was thrown into the water still alive in the early hours of the morning.

Yutthaphon was traced through CCTV before being taken to the police station where angry friends and relatives were waiting. They pounced on Yutthaphon while punching and kicking him as he was dragged inside.

The delivery driver allegedly confessed that he picked up Piyada from Lumpini Park in Bangkok and then paid 1,000 Baht (23.15 GBP) for sex. When they finished, he invited her to his room for group sex with other men.

However, he then tried to rob her at knifepoint but when she refused to hand over any money he smashed her in the head with a hammer

Yutthaphon told cops he then chained a 5kg blue dumbbell to Piyada's neck and hurled her into the canal while she was still alive. The dumbbell was supposed to hold her underwater but came loose and her body floated to the surface.

He said: 'I had been driving around the park for several nights targeting ladyboys that I could have sex with and rob. There weren't a lot of opportunities.

'I chose this one because she had a car so I knew she would have money. She was talking with friends so I drove around until she was alone and invited her onto the back seat. I agreed to pay her 1,000 baht and we did it in the car.'

Yutthaphon said he held a knife to the Piyada's throat and then forced her to make a bank transfer to him for 1,400 Baht (32.41 GBP). He then hit her with the hammer.

The man told police he used a chain to tie the heavy dumbbell around her neck and threw her into the canal while she was still alive but disorientated, having previously been knocked unconscious. He also threw her iPhone 13 into the canal to try and hide the evidence of the recent bank transactions for her services.'

He added: 'At first I had no intention of killing, I just wanted to steal the money. I want to apologise to all of the relatives. I will accept my karma in prison.'

Officers detained Yutthaphon on multiple charges including 'murdering others by brutal acts, robbery at night with a weapon, causing death to others, concealing, removing or destroying a corpse or part of it in order to conceal its death or cause of death'.

Lieutenant colonel Natthaphon Udnoi from the Khlong Luang Police Station said: 'There are no other suspects involved in the death of the victim. The accused has confessed to all charges and he will be detained at the police station.

'The suspect believed he could conceal the crime and escape. However, our investigators were able to catch him very quickly.'