Mystery of feet never identified

Police have been unable to find out the identities of the seven men and one woman found dead across the county.

They include the feet of a woman found in 1987.

One foot was found near Middleton and, weeks later, the other foot was found in Heysham. Both feet wore identical socks and training shoes.

The trainers were grey or blue with three vertical stripes on the sides.

The socks appeared to be made of a white cotton fibre.

The files, published by the UK Missing Persons Bureau, also show a number of cases where bodies have been washed up or found in the sea at Blackpool.

There are currently 541 unidentified bodies being investigated in England, Scotland and Wales.

Information from the Missing Persons Bureau outlines the details of cases from the last four decades that have never been solved.

In each case, the bodies found have never been identified and police only know vague circumstances about their deaths.

It is thought the bodies and remains were buried in unmarked graves.

The most recent case where a body was found and has not yet been identified was that of a man found on St Annes beach in August last year.

Lancashire police said there are currently 15 unsolved/undetected murders in the county – including the case of the Ormesher sisters murdered in Ormskirk in 1956.

But a spokesman said none of these eight cases fall into that category.

DS Rob Anderson, from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “No unsolved murder or serious sexual assault is ever closed and we remain committed to delivering closure and support for the victims and their families, as well as reassuring our communities, regardless of the passage of time.”

The Missing Persons Bureau is the UK national and international point of contact for all missing person and unidentified body investigations.