THE shattered relatives of murdered couple Mohammed and Bilquis Karim have returned to the shop where the couple were killed.

The mourning family went back to the murder scene for the first time yesterday in a bid to help the police investigation. They agreed to carry out a stocktake at Tony's Jewellers, Church Street, Preston, to try and see if anything was taken by the killers.

Mr Karim's son Shabir and one of the dead man's three daughters were seen at the shop which has been the centre of the police investigations.

And the Karim family has also announced a large reward is being offered to anyone who can help catch the killers. The two sons and three daughters of Tony, 52, and Bilquis, 48, are still coming to terms with the tragedy.

Detectives are keeping an open mind on the reasons behind the killing but are not treating the attack as an average robbery.

The couple from Whalley Old Road, Little Harwood, were the victims of a savage and sustained attack.

Police have also been studying hours of tape from closed circuit cameras at the shop and surrounding streets in the hope of a breakthrough. Acting Detective Superintendent Mike Arnold, the man in charge of the 50-strong team of detectives, said: "We have spoken to a number of witnesses but we are disappointed that none of the customers who were in the shop on the afternoon of the killing have contacted us.

Mr Arnold added: "Obviously robbery was one of the first motives we were looking at but at this moment nothing has been ruled out. The level of violence used against Mr and Mrs Karim was not what you would normally expect with a robbery.

"We are looking at a range of options including drugs and a racially motivated attack."

Anyone with information about the murders should contact the police on 01772 614444 or the Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.

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