An academic will lead a fresh investigation into the unsolved case of a teenage girl, according to reports. Charlene Downes went missing in 2003 and, presumed murdered, her body has never been found.
Her case uncovered a disturbing dark side of Blackpool Promenade, where she took to hanging around after being excluded from school. It revealed that predators lurked in the seaside town's arcades and takeaways, exploiting children with offers of burgers, cigarettes, booze - and the promise of affection.
A botched police investigation that followed Charlene's disappearance would uncover stomach-churning claims about her fate. It was alleged that Charlene had been strangled and dismembered, that her killers had joked of having turned her into kebab meat and tiling grout - after she had 'had enough' of being exploited and threatened to go to police.
