A MAN arrested in Spain following the deaths of two teenage girls is being investigated over a possible link to the nine-year unsolved murder of Bury pensioner Shirley Leach.

The death of the 66-year-old, whose body was discovered in toilets at Bury Interchange in January, 1994, sent shockwaves around the town. Mrs Leach, of Holme Avenue, Brandlesholme, had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

Despite extensive police investigations, including the blood testing of more than 500 men, her killer remains at large.

Now it has been disclosed that Englishman Tony King, being held by Spanish police on the Costa del Sol over the deaths of the two teenagers, is being investigated over 11 unsolved murders and sex crimes nationwide, including Mrs Leach's killing.

For several years now, DNA samples taken from certain categories of offenders throughout the country have been sent to a national database in Birmingham.

Bury police have continuously pinned their hopes on the possibility that one day a sample may match that salvaged from the scene of Mrs Leach's murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Frank Raggett, head of Bury CID , said: "This is very much a standard, regular inquiry and we are keeping an open mind as to any link between the death of the two girls in Spain and that of Shirley Leach.

"Every little bit of information is investigated, even nearly ten years after her death, and this is just one more avenue to go down to try and solve the murder."

A spokeswoman from Greater Manchester Police confirmed that officers had been in contact with the incident room at Scotland Yard as part of a case review.