Melanie Hall murder: Parents 'still feel raw' 23 years on

The parents of a woman murdered 23 years ago have said her death still feels "raw", as fresh details about a DNA clue in the case were revealed.

Melanie Hall was last seen alive at a nightclub in Bath in June 1996 but her body was not found until October 2009.

Police say DNA found on rope wrapped around bin liners containing Ms Hall's body could belong to her killer.

Steve and Patricia Hall have reinstated a £50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Mr Hall said: "It's been a long time since Melanie disappeared and 10 years since she was found.

"This is still with us as a family and hasn't gone away and it's still as raw today as it was 23 years ago."

Mrs Hall added: "If you really love somebody, and she was such a lovely girl, it doesn't get any easier."

Ms Hall, 25, who was a clerical worker at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, had been for a night out at Cadillacs nightclub when she was last seen on 9 June 1996.

A black bin liner containing her bones and skull was found by a workman clearing vegetation next to a slip-road at junction 14 of the M5, near Thornbury in south Gloucestershire, on 5 October 2009.

Officers revealed in 2016 that DNA had been recovered from an item found with Ms Hall's body.

Det Ch Insp James Riccio, of Avon and Somerset Police has now confirmed the DNA was "found on a length of blue polypropylene rope, which was wrapped around thin black bin liners which had contained her body".

"We recovered a 13m length of 4mm rope from the scene, made up from four separate lengths knotted together," he said.

"It's commercially manufactured rope and commonly used on building sites and for drawing electrical cable through trunking."

Det Insp Riccio said it was possible the DNA was that of Ms Hall's killer but said the person who left the body in the undergrowth may not have killed her.

The force confirmed Ms Hall's parents had reinstated a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the murder.

The independent charity Crimestoppers has also reinstated a reward of up to £10,000 for information.

Mr Hall said the family were "eternally optimistic" his daughter's killer would be found.

Several arrests have been made since Ms Hall disappeared but nobody has ever been charged.