Police confirm body is Mandy

The body found in the River Severn on Monday was that of missing former Wolverhampton mother Mandy Franks, police confirmed today.

It has taken three days to identify her body, which was spotted by a fisherman in the river near Apley, Shropshire.

Police are treating the death of Miss Franks, who grew up in Wolverhampton and attended Aldersley High School, as unexplained.

Officers have been searching for the 40-year-old since she vanished after a night out in Shrewsbury, where she lived, on October 5.

Police, paramedics and fire crews were called out around 10am on Monday after an angler reported seeing a body floating near to the A442 Bridgnorth to Telford road.

The coroner for south Shropshire Anthony Sibcy and relatives of Miss Franks, several of whom still live in the Wolverhampton area, were informed of the discovery.

Miss Franks left Wolverhampton in 1984 and had also previously been a pupil at Palmers Cross Junior and Infant School in the city.