Accrington boy, 16, charged with Lindsay Birbeck's murder Published duration 31 August 2019

image copyright Lancashire Police image caption Lindsay Birbeck was last seen on CCTV walking on Burnley Road in Huncoat

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murdering a teaching assistant whose body was found in a cemetery.

Lindsay Birbeck 47, was last seen in Huncoat, Lancashire, on 12 August and was found dead at Accrington Cemetery on 24 August.

Post-mortem tests found she had been strangled.

The teenager, from Accrington, who cannot be named because of his age, is due to appear at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Ms Birbeck's disappearance prompted wide-ranging searches by hundreds of members of the public.

Her children Steven, 19 and Sarah, 16, said they had lost "not only our mum but our best friend too".

image copyright Lancashire Police image caption Ms Birbeck's body was found in Accrington Cemetery on Saturday