Man charged with murder of girl, 16

Police have charged a 22-year-old man with the murder of a 16-year-old girl whose body was found in an alleyway.

David Minto, of Kirby Road, Blackpool, will appear at Blackpool Magistrates' Court on Monday

Sasha Marsden was found in a rear alley behind Kirby Road in the South Shore area of the resort on Thursday night.

She had been repeatedly stabbed in the head and face before attempts were made to set her body on fire.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said: "Tonight, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Lancashire Constabulary to charge a man with the murder of Sasha Marsden.

"David Minto, 22, of Kirby Road, Blackpool has been charged with murder and has been remanded into custody to appear before Blackpool Magistrates' Court tomorrow morning. The family have been informed of the latest development and specially trained officers continue to offer them support."

Miss Marsden's family laid flowers at the scene where her body was found. They later left without comment.

In a statement issued through Lancashire Constabulary, her parents Gary, 40, and Jayne, 45, from Staining, Blackpool, said: "No words can express how we feel. Our beautiful daughter has been taken from us. She was a loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, great granddaughter, auntie, niece, cousin and girlfriend. She was very much loved and her loss has left a huge gap in all our lives, a gap that can never be filled.

"Sasha was your typical teenager, a fun-loving girl who enjoyed spending time with her friends and boyfriend, with her parents being last on the list unless she wanted something or needed a lift somewhere. We would ask that we be left alone in private to allow us to come to terms with losing our beautiful precious daughter."

Passers-by were reported to have thought the body was a shop dummy that was burning in Kirby Road in the resort's South Shore area. A 20-year-old woman arrested on Thursday night was released without charge.