Police find body believed to be of missing mother

Police said on Tuesday they had found a body, believed to be that of a mother who had gone missing with her severely disabled son.

Heather Wardle, 39, left her home in Redditch, Worcestershire, on Friday saying she was going to visit a friend nearby but never arrived.

Officers said local teenagers had found the body in undergrowth not far from Wardle's home late on Monday. They said the death was being treated as "unexplained" and that her son, James Hughes, was still missing.

"James has not been found and in light of the discovery of what we believe to be his mother's body, we are very concerned for his wellbeing," Superintendent Jane Horwood of West Mercia Police told a news conference.

Hughes, whose 22nd birthday was on Sunday, has the mental age of an 18-month-old child, suffers from epilepsy, usually uses a wheelchair and cannot care for himself, Horwood said.

She added it was not clear when Hughes had last been seen.

"Heather was James's main carer and her family say she was a fantastic mother.

"However looking after someone round the clock inevitably takes it toll and we can only imagine what tremendous strain Heather was under," Horwood said.

Her partner Brian Kirby and three other sons were said to be devastated.

Horwood said officers were now looking to piece together the family's lifestyle over the last few months.