THE mother of a murdered Bolton teenage drug addict has urged others not to follow her daughter's tragic path.

Carly Bateman, aged 17, was strangled almost four weeks ago on the outskirts of the town's red light area.

And today her mother, Vanessa Stirling, urged BEN readers to help track down the killer. In an impassioned plea she warned young people not to get involved in drugs.

Speaking at a press conference she said: "This is what happens when people start on drugs, they will kill you. If by speaking out it can save others from a similar fate then Carly will not have died in vain."

New photographs have also been issued of Carly, one taken just a week before she died, in the hope that they will jog people's memory. Carly's naked body was dumped in a passageway off Crawford Avenue, the Haulgh.

She had been working as a prostitute to fund a drug habit her family discovered she had developed two years earlier.

Mrs Stirling travelled from her home in Doncaster to appear at a press conference in Bolton alongside, Alan Bateman and the detective leading the hunt, Det Chief Insp Tony Cook.

She told reporters how her family is still devastated by the horrific way her daughter died.

"We can't believe someone would do this to such a lovely young girl," said Mrs Stirling.

"She might have chosen a different path which some people may not understand, but she didn't deserve to have her life taken away in these tragic circumstances.

"Carly was strong willed and a free spirit and this side of her personality led her to choose the lifestyle that she had.

"Her decisions put her in danger, and in the end cost her her life.

"There are lots of other young people in the same situation as Carly, but if only kids realise what drugs do to people."

She pleaded with people who knew Carly or anyone who knows about the night she died to search their minds for any piece of information which might help police catch Carly's killer.

"No matter how small or unimportant you think your information is, it could be the missing piece and could help the police track down the person responsible," said Mrs Stirling.

Detectives say a previous appeal for information about a van seen near where Carly's body was found led to a number of phone calls which have helped eliminate people from the inquiry.

But they are still trying to trace the clothing Carly was wearing on the night she died and men who use the services of local prostitutes in the area who have not yet come forward.

Det Chief Insp Cook said the killer will be tracked down if they do not come forward voluntarily.

"Rather than sitting at home waiting for the police to knock on your door it would be far easier for you to come forward," said the police chief.

"At least then you could enjoy peace of mind," he said, adding that they will be dealt with sensitively and in confidence.

"If anyone is thinking they won't be found, then they are wrong. We won't let them disappear or go underground. We will find who is responsible for Carly's murder," he pledged.

When Carly was last seen alive at around midnight on Saturday, November 10 she was wearing light coloured three-quarter length pants, a grey and blue top with "Ellesse" written across the front and white Reebok trainers with pink inserts.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the murder incident room based at Castle Street police station on 0161 856 5961 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on free phone 0800 555 111.

Click HERE for background reports on the tragic murder of a teenage girl