Mary Bastholm search: Excavation to start at The Clean Plate cafe

Excavations will begin at the Clean Plate Cafe in Gloucester on Wednesday, after police found material that could be linked to a suspected victim of serial killer Fred West.

Mary Bastholm was wearing a blue coat on the day she went missing in Gloucester in 1968.

Blue material has been found in an initial search of a cellar below the cafe.

Gloucestershire Police are investigating six voids found beneath the floor of the business, known at the time as the Pop In cafe, where 15-year-old Mary worked and had served West as a customer.

Det Ch Insp John Turner said the excavations would reveal "once and for all" whether the teenager's remains were buried there.

18 May 2021