AN EXPERT police dog handler from Lancashire has been called in to search for the body of a missing teenage mother in Coventry.

Sergeant Mick Swindells was requested by West Midlands Police, who are digging the grounds of a house close to the parents' home of Nicola Payne.

Nicola was 18 and the mother of a six-month-old son when she disappeared more than four years ago after leaving her boyfriend's home in the city.

Police have since ruled the boyfriend out of their investigation. Sgt Swindells is considered to be one of the country's leading experts in using dogs to search for human remains and is often called upon to help other forces.

Lancashire Constabulary was a pioneer in the training of dogs to sniff out dead bodies following the Moors Murders case in 1964.

Sgt Swindells, who is based in Blackpool, has developed his expertise over many years and recently spent time in America with a team of law officers and scientists known as "Necrosearch International" who advise the FBI on detection methods.

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