THE detective leading the investigation into the murder of Betty Yates is appealing to Shuttle readers for more information after 80 calls from the public gave officers new leads.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Jamieson has 50 staff working to catch the killer of the 77-year-old retired teacher at her remote riverside cottage in Bewdley. An incident support room set up at Stourport received more than 80 calls over the weekend.

At a press conference on Severnside South today, he called the widow a “pillar of the community” who had suffered “a horrendous attack which had resulted in a fatal stab injury”.

He said he was satisfied that a knife recovered from the scene was the murder weapon and confirmed she had sustained other injuries.

When quizzed, Det Chief Insp Jamieson confirmed that new lines of inquiry included reports of a man in a red hooded top spotted near the scene, as well as a post on a facebook tribute site by a woman, who suggested the murder was the result of a bungled burglary.

He was unable to say whether there were signs of a break-in or anything had been stolen but urged people with information to go straight to the police rather than posting on social networking sites.

The officer said he wanted to piece together a detailed picture of Mrs Yates’s movements between bank holiday Monday, January 2 and the following morning.

"We know that she left her home at around 1pm or 2pm to visit friends last Monday and returned a couple of hours later,” he explained, “It is essential that we trace anyone who saw or spoke to her after that.”

He added: "This was a callous attack on a much-loved and respected member of the community and the smallest snippet of information could have an important bearing on our investigation."

Search teams continue to trawl the 16 acres of land attached to Riverscroft cottage as well as the river bank, woodland at the back of the property and fields.

Det Chief Insp Jamieson appealed for anyone finding discarded clothing or anything else unusual in that area to get in touch.

He added that house-to-house inquiries are continuing in and around Bewdley along with the gathering of CCTV footage.

"There is a significant police presence in the area and in addition to those officers directly involved in the investigation we also have high-visibility patrols. We recognise the impact this incident has had on the community but it should be borne in mind that such crimes are exceedingly rare and Bewdley in general is a low crime area,” he said.

"I would also like to further reassure people that we are using all the resources at our disposal in order to solve this case and we will do everything in our power to bring the killer or killers to justice,” he added.

Anyone with information should call police at the Major Incident Room in Stourport on 0300 333 3000.