Metal detector enthusiasts have teamed up with police in a bid to unearth clues which could help solve the unsolved murder of student Jessie Earl.

Members of the Eastbourne and District Metal Detector Club joined police on the Sussex Downs yesterday to hunt for evidence in the 21-year-old murder inquiry.

Around a dozen members searched an area of Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, where Jessie's remains were found in 1989, nine years after the

22-year-old art student went missing from her bedsit in Upperton Road, Eastbourne.

Detectives re-opened the inquiry earlier this year and an appeal for information featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme. Police believe the murder may be linked to others in the UK that occurred in similar circumstances and are looking at a possible links.

Scientists at the National Crime Faculty at Bramshill, Hampshire, are also checking for matches. Police have set up an incident room at Eastbourne police station. They are tracing former police officers who worked on the case as well as student friends of Jessie.

Their efforts are aimed at finding new evidence from as many different avenues as possible. Detectives believed a murder weapon or other clues could still be hidden near the site where Jessie's remains were found and called in experts from the local metal detecting club for help.

Club members spent much of yesterday searching the scene. A police spokesman said he did not expect their findings to be revealed until a later date.

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