A BODY has been discovered in a Worcestershire woodland close to where French student Celine Figard's body was found almost 10 years ago.

Villagers in Ombersley were in shock as police officers and forensic teams swarmed on nearby Hawford Wood, yesterday afternoon.

A helicopter scoured the surrounding area, while a stretch of road leading off the A449 was cordoned off.

Residents of Hawford Wood itself had to leave vehicles in a nearby layby for several hours as the road was searched.

Their cars were parked alongside dozens of flowers, placed there in memory of Celine, who was murdered and raped by lorry driver Stuart Morgan in December 1995.

For many Ombersley villagers who drove past the police cordon, it was a painful reminder of that fateful day.

Pensioner Arthur Turner of Main Road, Ombersley, said he hoped that a similar tragedy had not occurred.

The death of Celine was a real shock for the village, and we really hope something like that hasn't happened again, he said.

We could not believe that her body was found near our village.

Sylvia Marshall, also of Main Road, said she had heard the helicopter overhead at around 5pm.

With all of the police at Hawford Wood and the helicopter above, we all thought the news doesn't seem good, but it is a mystery as to what happened.

One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said a policeman had asked him if he had seen a tramp in the area.

A memorial garden for Celine can be found in the grounds of the village church, and residents are praying that another tragedy has not befallen this sleepy hamlet.

A police spokesman confirmed a post mortem was carried out by a Home Office pathologist late last night, but the results were inconclusive and the cause of death is not yet established.

Investigations continue to identify the person and how they came to be there.

1995 tragedy

CELINE Figard's naked body was found dumped in woodland next to the A449 layby, near Ombersley, in December 1995.

The 19-year-old accountancy student was found by local businessman Arthur Fain after he stopped at the Hawford layby to fix a windscreen wiper.

The find shattered the lives of Celine's family - her mother and father Bernard and Martine, brothers Stephane and Nicolas and sister Karine.

In October 1996, lorry driver Stuart Morgan from Poole, Dorset, was sentenced to life imprisonment after an 11-day trial at Worcester Crown Court.

He had strangled Celine and, during her ordeal, she was raped by the father-of-three, who had battered her with enough force to break her cheek and jaw bone.

The investigation prompted the then largest DNA screening ever undertaken, of 5,000 drivers.