Image caption The bodies were all found on an isolated stretch of beach on a barrier island

Investigators have found three more sets of human remains on a beach near New York City, bringing to eight the number of corpses found there.

Police in Suffolk County, New York suspect a serial killer.

Four women working as prostitutes were found dead nearby in 2010; a body found last week has not been identified.

The latest bodies were found in a patch of dense brush on Gilgo Beach, a barrier island south of Long Island, about 45 miles (70km) east of New York.

Police scouring the beach on foot, from helicopters and at the end of fire engine ladders discovered the three newest bodies on Monday, about a mile east of where the first group of bodies were discovered.

Officials cautioned they had yet to link the newest discoveries conclusively with the five bodies previously found.

The remains were separated by about 500m. The search was expected to continue on Tuesday.

It took investigators a month to identify the first group of remains using DNA and dental records as prostitutes who had arranged to meet clients through Craigslist and other websites, police have said.

Investigators continue to search for the remains of Shannan Gilbert, a New Jersey woman who was last seen in May at nearby Oak Beach, where she had arranged to meet a client she had met through Craigslist.

A resident of the beach told authorities a woman believed to be Ms Gilbert came to his door at 0445 pleading for help, then fled.