THE widow of an East Lancashire sailor lost in the mysterious sinking of the trawler Gaul says she is willing to give DNA samples in a bid to identify bodies believed to be those of the crew.

Two bodies, buried in Russia 25 years ago, have been exhumed to establish whether they were crew members of the sunken trawler.

Two other graves are expected to be located and opened in the next few days.

Sheila Doone, of Sackville Street, Brierfield, whose husband John was radio operator on the trawler, says she is willing to undergo DNA tests.

But she is sceptical that the bodies are those of Gaul crewmen.

"There was a Norwegian boat lost at the same time in the same area and it was said when they were buried that at least one of these men had Norwegian clothing," she explained. "Of course I'd be willing to give a sample, all the families would," she added. It would mean scientists taking a mouth swab from her to match against samples taken from the bodies.

The Hull-registered vessel sank off northern Norway in February 1974, with the loss of all 36 crew.

Mrs Doone has been fighting ever since, along with families of the other crew members, to discover the truth behind the accident.

The operation - described as "difficult and sensitive" by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - is designed to ease the uncertainty for the families of those who died.

There has been speculation for years that the Gaul had been spying on the Russian navy, or even that it had not been sunk at all, but captured by the Russians.

There was no distress message and the only wreckage recovered was a small buoy.

However, a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report, published in April 1999, found no evidence of espionage.

The report said the vessel was sunk after being pounded by large waves.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.