Moors murder puzzle as remains found

Remains have been found on Saddleworth Moor, but there is confusion over whether they are related to the "moors murders".

Police sources said the discovery was not thought to be connected to the body of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett. But Ian Brady's solicitor is reported as saying a body has been uncovered.

Greater Manchester officers have been actively searching for Keith's body for the past three years. Keith, 12, was murdered in 1964 by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, one of five of their young victims.

West Yorkshire police said they were called to reports of remains found at Wessenden Head Road on Saddleworth Moor, near Huddersfield. A spokesman said it was not clear whether the remains were human, adding: "Inquiries are on-going."

The Telegraph website said that Brady's lawyer, Giovanni Di Stefano, reported that a body had been discovered by investigators following directions given by Brady. Mr Di Stefano is quoted as saying that a forensic archaeologist is involved.

David Kirwan, the solicitor acting for Keith's mother Winnie Johnson, said police had not been in touch about any discovery.

Mr Kirwan, who has visited Ian Brady in prison twice since 2006, said Mrs Johnson remained in the dark about the find.

He said: "Clearly it is early days in the investigation of this discovery but I am sure that everyone is praying that this news brings to end the 44-year-old nightmare for Keith Bennett's mother.

"I have worked extremely closely with Winnie Johnson over the last two years and she has personally devoted every day of her life for the last four decades in order to give her son the proper burial that Brady and Hindley have denied him so far."