CYCLIST Paul Lindsay from Horwich was the man who discovered the body and sparked a nationwide hunt for a sex killer.

Fellow cyclist Mr Eric Collins, from Ainsdale Drive, Darwen, told today how Mr Lindsay flagged him down in Stones Bank Lane and asked him to witness the grim discovery.

"He was so shocked by what he had seen he was hoping it was just a dummy or something.

"He was pretty upset. He had climbed over the wall, which is right next to the lay-by, to answer a call of nature.

"When he saw the body he had waited for the next person to come along. It just so happened that next person was me. "It was just so unreal. I could see the head and that something pretty horrific had happened.

"The body was very sparsely clothed, at first I thought she was completely naked, but then I could see a ladder mark on her legs so she was obviously still wearing tights.

"She had ligature marks on her neck and I knew she had been murdered.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet - everything feels so unreal."

Mr Collins said he cycled to his home on the edge of Darwen and alerted the police before returning to the scene.

He said: "When I got back the place was full of police."

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