POLICE are moving closer to solving the mystery of a badly decomposed body found in the aftermath of flooding in Kendal.

This week police from Cheshire headed north to help the investigation and confirmed the only missing person on their files who matched the body's description was Shafilea Ahmed.

Miss Ahmed, 17, went missing from her home in Warrington on September 11 last year.

The body of a young woman was spotted on the banks of the River Kent near Force Bridge at Sedgwick on the morning of February 4.

Cumbria Police soon launched a nationwide search for the identity of the woman and began investigating hundreds of outstanding files on missing people.

Last week divers combed the depths of the river for more clues to the identity of the body.

See Friday's Westmorland Gazette for more details.