Lindsay Birbeck: Teenager arrested on suspicion of murdering teaching assistant

Lindsay Birbeck, 47, was last seen in the village of Huncoat in Lancashire, on August 12.
Lancashire Police
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a teaching assistant who was found dead in a Lancashire cemetery.

Lindsay Birbeck’s body was discovered at the weekend after last being seen in the village of Huncoat on August 12. Detectives said she had been strangled.

A murder probe was launched and police investigating the killing later released footage of a suspect pulling a wheelie bin.

Lancashire Police has since confirmed a 16-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of the 47-year-old's murder. It added: "Thanks again to everyone who's responded to our appeals. Our thoughts remain with Lindsay's family and friends."

Ms Birbeck's body was found in Accrington Cemetery by a member of the public on Saturday.

The teenage suspect is being held in custody.

Detective Superintendent Andy Cribbin, of the force's major investigation team, said: "The response to our earlier appeal has been absolutely overwhelming and I would like to thank everyone who has come forward with information.

"While we have made an arrest our inquiries are very much continuing and I would continue to appeal for anyone with information to come forward.

"However, I would urge people not to speculate and to be mindful of the comments they make, especially on social media, as this causes distress to the family and could impact on our investigation."

A post-mortem examination showed the teaching assistant, from Huncoat, near Accrington, died as a result of being strangled.

Ms Birbeck went missing shortly after 4pm on August 12 and her disappearance prompted wide ranging searches by hundreds of members of the public.

Earlier on Tuesday, police released CCTV images of a suspect walking along Burnley Road towards Accrington with a blue wheelie bin at about 2.30pm on August 17.

A bin similar to the one in the footage was found near the scene where Ms Birbeck was discovered, police said.

A large team of detectives have been working on the case since Saturday.

Police are continuing to urge anyone with information to submit it through the major crime web portal at www.mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119E06-PO1.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in