Blade could be murder weapon

A weapon - thought to be a rusty blade - which could have been used to murder Pc Keith Blakelock during the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots has been unearthed in the back garden of a house on the north London estate.

The breakthrough was made by detectives using ground-penetrating radar. It also identified areas where they believe other items linked to the killing could be

buried. Forty officers moved into the garden in Willan Road on Tuesday.

They are also believed to be looking for Pc Blakelock's truncheon and helmet which went missing during the riots.

Dr James Walker, 46, a forensic scientist based in London, said: "There is a very good chance police can get a DNA profile off the weapon. If it was wrapped in a carrier bag, then any blood, sweat or saliva would have been trapped on the weapon and preserved."

The first soil samples excavated from Willan Road have been loaded into lorries to be taken away for further testing. Surveyors are using infra-red beams to plot a sophisticated virtual 3D map of the area at the front of the small row of terrace council houses.

At the time of the riots, the house was occupied by Marcia Maragh, a friend of Cynthia Jarrett, whose death from a heart attack during a police raid sparked the violence. The mother of four now lives in nearby Hornsey.

Shocked at the move to dig up the garden of her former home, she said: "I don't know why the police want to do it."

Police say Ms Maragh, along with the current occupiers of the house, are not suspects.

Three men, Winston Silcott, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of Pc Blakelock's murder but were later acquitted by the Court of Appeal.