Man held after body is found dismembered

A body cut up and dumped in four places in the Lancashire countryside was that of a heavily pregnant 22-year-old woman, police said yesterday.

She was identified as Shaheeda Bi from Milner Street, Burnley. Police were questioning a man about the discovery.

A search was launched on Thursday after a severed head was found in burning vegetation on the A59 near Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley and a charred leg at a picnic site at nearby Sabden.

The woman's torso and other remains were found later at two separate places at Waddington a few miles away. They were examined by a Home Office pathologist.

Police searched a house in Whalley Road, Clitheroe, as part of their investigation.

A spokesman said the woman was only weeks away from giving birth when she died. Police are appealing for anyone who saw an Asian man driving a white M-registered Toyota Carina saloon in the area where the body was found to come forward.