Police have arrested a 31-year-old man who allegedly decapitated his mother and fled the scene, taking her head with him in his car.

The man, who police believe to have suffered a psychotic episode, was stopped on the A4 motorway at Schipluiden near Delft on Wednesday after the headless body of his mother (63) was found at her home in Hellevoetsluis.

A neighbour said she had seen the woman come home with bags of shopping shortly before her death. “Not much later I heard a noise like someone was hitting an animal,” she told the AD.

Video footage shows the son running from the house towards his car carrying a holdall. According to neighbours, the son no longer lived at home but was staying there for a couple of days.

Police only confirmed the family relationship between the man and the woman and said they are continuing the investigation.