Parbold Hill death: Teen arrested in murder probe

Police say the killing of Alex Davies was "shocking"

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murdering another teenager whose body was found in a wood.

The body of Alex Davies, 18, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, was found near Parbold Hill on Wednesday.

Police said he was reported missing on Tuesday but the last confirmed sighting of him was near the railway bridge in Parbold at about 14:00 BST on Monday.

Lancashire Constabulary said the cause of death could not be disclosed "for operational reasons".

A spokesperson said: "Police are carrying out a number of inquiries in a bid to trace Alex's movements from the time he went missing to the time his body was found."

The teenager's body was found near Parbold Hill

Det Ch Insp Geoff Hurst said: "This is a truly shocking murder of a young man and my thoughts are with his family and friends at this desperately sad time.

"Alex was a much loved son and brother and his family are obviously distraught by what has happened."

He added that police were "keeping an open mind for the reason Alex was in the Parbold area".