DETECTIVES hope the tattered remains of a leather wallet will help track down a vicious killer who battered unconscious a Bolton pensioner before burning him alive. They hope the badly burned wallet - discovered alongside the body of Daniel McFadden - will provide them with the vital clues needed in the hunt for the killer. The BEN can today exclusively reveal that the wallet was discovered by forensic experts as they searched through the remains of the 65-year-old bachelor's flat in Mere Gardens, Halliwell.

The wallet, embossed with the initials DAH, may have been left at the scene by the killer.

A £10,500 reward for information has been offered by the Greater Manchester Police Authority and the Bolton Evening News, but the killer is still on the loose seven months after the murder. Mr McFadden spent the last night of his life - Wednesday June 17 - visiting his local pubs in Chorley Old Road, Bolton. He is known to have left Funny's Bar at 10.20pm and was last seen alive outside Morrison's supermarket at 11.40pm.

Police still have no idea where he had spent the previous 80 minutes.

Mr McFadden's body was discovered by firefighters as fire raged through his flat three hours later at 3.40am.

His badly burned body was discovered face down.

The killer is believed to have knocked Mr McFadden unconscious with a blow to the back of his head before putting a mattress and paper over his body and then setting the pile alight.

Detectives in the 40-strong police team have so far interviewed more than 2,600 people in the hunt.

They now hope that publishing details of the wallet in the BEN will provide the breakthrough they need.

The wallet was either dark brown or black with the distinctive initials DAH embossed on the front. It was very badly damaged. An identical one has now been made. The man leading the hunt, Det Supt Mick Gorrill, head of Bolton CID, said the police team wants to speak to anyone who recognises the wallet, or may perhaps have seen Mr McFadden with the wallet or has any information about its true owner.

"The wallet does not appear to be Danny's," said Mr Gorrill. "Someone may have given him the wallet or perhaps the killer left it behind. At this stage, we are unable to say."

But he stressed that the hunt for the killer will continue until he is caught.

"We are still working as hard on this inquiry as we were last June. Danny's murder was a terrible crime that has shocked us all. The person responsible must be caught."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the murder incident room on the hot-line numbers 0161 856 5961/5962 or on free phone 0800 555 111. All calls will be treated in confidence.

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