POLICE reopened the file on a murder from more than 50 years ago after an elderly man confessed to committing the crime.

The 83-year-old told staff at the residential home in Colne where he lives that he was responsible for killing 19-year-old Eileen Barratt, from Trawden, in 1941.

But detectives said today that no action would be taken after they managed to prove he was abroad when the murder took place.

The file on the teenager's death, who was murdered at a bus stop in Albert Road, Colne, will now be returned to police headquarters.

The residential home called in police and the pensioner was interviewed by a constable before the case was passed onto Colne CID. Detective Constable Ian Gibbs, of Colne CID, said: "I contacted headquarters to get the file on the murder and reopened the case.

"I went to interview the man with his solicitor and he then said he had been drunk when he made his confession and he wanted to retract it.

"He said he was in the army at the time the murder occurred and although he knew some of the details of the crime there were inconsistencies between his version and what really happened.

"When we checked out his army record we discovered that he had in fact been posted overseas for the whole of 1941 - when the murder was committed.

"It was just one of those things. We have to take things seriously and make a full investigation when people claim to have carried out a crime."

He said they would be taking no action against the man.

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