POLICE divers have been dredging Stanhill’s Kemp Delph in a bid to find the body of murdered rapist Alan Lee Street.

This week’s search at the disused quarry lodge drew a blank but detectives are convinced the body has been dumped after a violent attack at a house in Padiham.

The man leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter, said: "We are yet to recover Mr Street’s body but we are conducting extensive inquiries.

"I would appeal to anyone, particularly ramblers or dog walkers, who may have seen a Mitsubishi car or a number of men acting suspiciously on open land between Oswald-twistle and Knuzden to get in touch."

Police have also been concentrating their efforts in the Rivington Pike area of Bolton and at the beginning of the week they were conducting high-visibility patrols, handing out leaflets and speaking to walkers.

Meanwhile, detectives are appealing to a man who contacted them to get back in touch.

The man, who gave an anonymous tip-off at around 9.30pm on 6 January, is thought by police to hold vital clues that may be the key to unlocking the case.

Detective Superintendent Hunter said: "I would urge this man to make contact with us. The information he provided was extremely interesting and it is very important that we speak to him again. What he tells me will be treated in the strictest confidence and I am quite prepared to speak with him directly."

Police launched an investigation after an anonymous tip-off led them to find blood-stained clothes in a blood-soaked room in Stockbridge Road, Padiham, on 21 December.

Due to the sheer quantity of blood found at the scene, they believe Mr Street, 26, of Lime Avenue, Oswaldtwistle, was subjected to a "sustained, vicious and prolonged attack" in the front room of the two-bedroomed terrace before his body was moved.

The ice blue Mitsubishi Colt, which has been proved to have been used to move the body, was found in Annie Street, Accrington, on 30 December.

It was licensed to Alan Palmer who lived in the house in Padiham where the grim discovery was made.

Police are hunting the 43-year-old lorry driver and his brother-in-law Peter Leonard, 51, of Arncliffe Avenue, Accrington.

We can exclusively reveal that Mr Leonard was living with his girlfriend Nicola Street, Mr Street’s cousin.

Detective Superintendent Hunter this week made a special web appeal to encourage people holding information to come forward. It can be viewed on our website, www.accringtonobserver.co.uk

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

l Kieran Davison, 20, Mr Palmer's lodger in Stockbridge Road, Padiham, appeared before Burnley magistrates on Christmas Eve charged with the murder of Mr Street. He was remanded in custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on 18 March.