A suspected illegal immigrant was in custody in Paris on Monday after stabbing a man to death and allegedly 'drinking his blood'.

French detectives said the macabre murder took place in the city on Sunday following an argument.

The unnamed suspect has no passport or other identity papers but is believed to be a Lithuanian aged 22.

He has admitted stabbing his 49-year-old victim to death, and leaving his mutilated body in an underground car park close to La Defense business district of Paris.

'He was arrested at around 4am on Sunday morning, and was covered in blood,' said a judicial source.

'His hand was bleeding but there seemed to be a lot more blood on him than was coming from the hand wound.

'After treatment in hospital, he told us that he had been drinking his victim's blood. These claims are being investigated.'

When questioned by police, the suspect was only able to speak in English, and also spoke about the Baltic state where he claims to come from.

He is said to have met his victim in a homeless shelter, and they were seen together on Saturday night in the suburb of Colombes.

The victim - who was French but who has not been named either - was found with his throat cut, and with multiple stab wounds around his body.

The man has been charged with murder, and is currently in the custody of judicial police from the Hauts-de-Seine department.

In November a suspected cannibal tore out a 90-year-old man's tongue and heart to eat in the south of France.

The homeless 26-year-old broke into the elderly man's home in the village of Nouilhan, and beat him over the head with an iron rod before trying to extract his organs.

The suspect, a former French Army soldier, claimed to have heard voices.