Seven held over cockle pickers' deaths

Two further people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 19 Chinese cockle pickers.

It brings the total number of arrested people to seven, said Julia Hodson, Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire police.

Two men came voluntarily into police custody in the Lancashire area and were being interviewed, said Ms Hodson at a news conference at Lancaster police station. She added that the two men were not survivors of Thursday's tragedy, when 19 Chinese cocklers died in the treacherous waters of Morecambe Bay.

Ms Hodson said police would be executing more search warrants shortly.

She said: "We are making some real progress. Five arrests yesterday (Sunday), three men and two women are still in police custody and are being interviewed."

She said detectives were interviewing the latest two to be arrested.

Ms Hodson said she'd had a "very constructive meeting" with cocklers and partner agencies this afternoon.

"We have already unblocked some communication channels. We have agreed to share some intelligence that was not shared previously. She said the bay area was no longer a crime scene and restrictions that had been place at the access points will now be lifted.

She said she had spoken to members of an identification commission set up to identify the victims but warned "this may well take weeks and possibly months".

An appeal was made for relatives, friends and colleagues who may be able to help detectives with their inquiries to come forward.

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