Body is missing Warrington teen (From Warrington Guardian)

Body is missing Warrington teen

POLICE have confirmed that the body of a young woman pulled from a river in the Lake District is that of Shafilea Ahmed.

The wait for DNA test results ended yesterday when a Cheshire Police spokesman confirmed the human remains were those of the 17-year-old from Great Sankey.

The teenager's badly decomposed body was found by a passer-by on the banks of the River Kent, near Kendal, on February 4.

The Cheshire Police spokesman said: "This afternoon we have received findings of DNA tests conducted on a body discovered in Sedgwick, Cumbria, earlier this month.

"The results of these tests confirm that the body is that of Shafilea Ahmed."

A press conference is due to take place today, Tuesday, at the Village Hotel, in Warrington, where detectives are expected to reveal their findings.

Shafilea's father, Iftikhar Ahmed, and his 41-year-old wife Farzana, of Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, were both arrested in December on suspicion of kidnap. They were given police bail. They will not be attending today's press conference.

They were unavailable for comment last night. But Shafilea's uncle Sultan Mahmood, said the family learned of the news yesterday afternoon. He said: "The family don't want to give a statement at the moment. They are very, very upset."

After the news broke, relatives and friends visited the family.

Education leaders who knew Shafilea were in shock following the announcement.

Alan Yates, headteacher at Great Sankey High School, which Shafilea attended until last February, said: "Everyone at the school is devastated. She was such a vibrant member of the school, who had many friends and a great future ahead of her. To lose her in this way is very difficult for all of us.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who loved and cared for Shafilea and we have arranged for trained counsellors to come into the school to give professional support to all those who have been affected."

Mike Southworth, principal of Priestley College, where Shafilea studied for a couple of weeks before her disappearance, said: "As a community we are devastated to hear the body has been identified as Shafilea's. Our hope was that she would be found safe and well. Although we only knew her for a short time, Shafilea made a good impression with her tutors and was well known and liked. Our thoughts go out to all those people who cared for her."

DCI Geraint Jones, leading the police investigation, will be joined at the press conference by Great Sankey High School head teacher Alan Yates.

Police are expected to reveal if they believe there were suspicious circumstances.

l Full story in Thursday's Warrington Guardian.