Moors Murders dig to continue as police search for victim Keith Bennett following reported discovery of skull - latest updates

A police search on Saddleworth Moor is set to continue, with fresh hope of murder victim Keith Bennett being found. It comes following the reported discovery of human remains.

Cops guarded the scene overnight. Part of a skull was reportedly recovered in a remote location, triggering a wider excavation by Greater Manchester Police. The remains will not be identified for weeks, police say.

The search comes after author Russell Edwards brought together a team of experts in a bid to find where Moors Murderer victim Keith was buried. He passed information to GMP.

READ MORE:The amateur sleuth who found suspected human remains in 58-year hunt for Keith Bennett

On Thursday night, force specialists went to a remote location to dig at the spot where Mr Edward's team reportedly found the remains.

Force forensic experts are hoping to obtain DNA from any body tissue they discover so they can confirm that the remains are those of Keith. It is understood a tiny piece of clothing has also been found buried 3ft underground beside the suspected skull.

The Manchester Evening News understands it will take a week to a fortnight to establish whether the remains are those of Keith.

Keith was just 12 when he was lured into a van by Myra Hindley, who asked him to help her with some boxes. Her lover and fellow killer Ian Brady was sat on the back seat, on June 16 1964.

His body has never been found.

Keith was one of five innocents killed between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Greater Manchester. Brady and Hindley, both in their 20s, lured children and teenagers to their deaths, then buried them on Saddleworth Moor.

Their victims were Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, Keith Bennett, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17.