Charlene Downes murder suspect arrested after 13 years

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Blackpool teenager who has been missing for almost 14 years.

Police said a 51-year-old man, who lived in Blackpool at the time of her disappearance but now resides in Preston, is currently in custody.

Schoolgirl Charlene, 14, of Blackpool, went missing in November 2003.

A £100,000 reward remains on offer for information leading to the conviction of Charlene's killer or killers.

'The investigation is one of the largest and longest running in the history of Lancashire Constabulary'.

The men, who owned a takeaway, were given more than £230,000 of compensation after a 2008 retrial collapsed with the prosecution offering no evidence.

Two men were arrested and tried on suspicion of Charlene's murder in 2007, with prosecutors claiming Charlene's body was chopped up and had "gone into kebabs".

Charlene's mother threatened to take legal action against the police for mishandling the case after they released CCTV footage of the last day she was alive in November 2016, 13 years after she went missing.

But yesterday the force finally announced a major breakout in the case - one of their longest investigations - after arrested a man on suspicion of her murder.

Ms Downes said the case could have been solved sooner had there not been a 13-year delay in releasing the footage. She met her friend and they walked towards the Carousel bar on North Pier.

Charlene's family report her as missing when she fails to come home.

In 2007, Funny Boyz kebab worker Ilyad Albattikhi was acquitted of Charlene's murder and his co-defendant Mohammed Reveshi was acquitted of helping dispose of her body.

Both men were paid nearly £250,000 each in compensation after the trial collapsed and the allegations were not proven.

DETECTIVES are today quizzing a suspect over the murder of teenager Charlene Downes, who is feared to have been chopped up into KEBABS. They believe Charlene was involved.

Several arrests for historical sexual offences were also made in Lancashire past year but they were said to not be directly connected to Charlene's murder as the probe into the teenager's disappearance is also looking at the wider issue of child sexual exploitation in the resort.