THIS bat necklace could hold the key to identifying the body of a woman that was found in woodland near Raikes Lane, police believe.

Detectives are appealing for the public's help after the woman's decomposed body was found in Raikes Clough near Raikes Lane, off Manchester Road, near the river Croal, at about 5.40pm last Thursday.

Police are trying to trace the final movements of the woman, who has not yet been identified.

Post mortem tests by the Home Office revealed that the body was a woman, but tests to determine how she died have proved inconclusive.

The woman is about 18 to 25 years old, probably white, about 5ft 2in to 5ft 4in tall, wore size 12 clothes and had long dark brown or black long hair fastened in a pony tail with a red elasticated bobble.

She also had several of facial piercings and a pierced belly button.

The woman was wearing a dark navy blue or black duffle coat with a fur trimmed collar, black tight fitting trousers, a T-shirt with a diamante cat on the front, a black cardigan and shin-high 14-hole black Doc Martin boots in size four to four-and-a-half.

Police have now released pictures of the woman's jewellery and some of her posessions in the hope that someone may recognise them.

Det Insp Michael Fraser from Bolton police said: "When we searched the body, we found a number of items on her that we hope can help identity her.

"She was also wearing a distinctive necklace with a bat pendant and had a chain secured to her waistband on which were a four inch pink 'mini maglite' style torch, an Aldi shopping trolley token with a black cat on the back, a PNY USB memory stick, a Sandisk 16GB microSD memory card and a Sony Walkman MP3 player.

"Within the pocket of her trousers was a train ticket and timetable for the Edinburgh to Manchester Airport train line.

"We still do not know how she died but our main priority is to find out who she is.

"Extensive enquiries have taken place and we are currently looking at missing person files across Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK.

"However, so far, we have not been able to identify her and more importantly, inform her family that they have sadly lost a loved one.

"We believe her body may have been there for a few weeks or even months and I would ask anyone who may have seen a woman in this area who matches the description given to contact us.

"Alternatively, do you recognise any of the images or know of someone who owns such items?

"If you do, we are keen to hear from you as the information you supply may help us piece together her final movements and eventually help us to find out who she is."

Police do not believe her death was suspicious.

Anyone with information can phone police on 0161 8565619 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.