POLICE in Winchester say they are still keen to speak to the family of a dead woman whose ashes were found in a casket in the river Itchen.

An anonymous member of the public handed the wooden casket in to police after fishing it from the river last month, but so far officers have been unable to trace the deceased's relatives.

They are believed to be the remains of Babs Bowyer, who died in May 1990 aged 86.

Babs was known to have lived in West End in Southampton, though it is understood she was cremated in Scarborough.

Police say they are still baffled as to how the casket came to end up in the Itchen, and are appealing for any help they can get in tracing her family.

Meanwhile the casket is being kept at Winchester Cathedral.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Nick Wieczorek at Winchester Police Station on 0845 045 4545.