Skull of Chinese cockle picker will go home

THE remains of a woman who died in the Morecambe Bay cockle-picking tragedy will be repatriated to China so she can be buried alongside her husband.

An inquest in Preston, Lancashire, ruled today that a human skull found on a beach in Silverdale, Lancashire, in July was that of 37-year-old Liu Qin Ying who went missing, presumed dead, in February 2004. It was found by a local guide riding his quad bike on the sands.

Police believe 23 Chinese men and women died but only 21 bodies were recovered.

All the victims, who were illegal immigrants, were caught in fast rising tides on Warton Sands, off Hest Bank. At least 26 children lost parents. The gangmaster, Lin Lian Ren, 29, was jailed for 14 years.