A SON has broken half a century of silence to reveal he believes his father was the man responsible for a notorious unsolved murder.

Detectives sensationally reopened the investigation into the death of May Rebecca Thompson earlier this year.

At the time they said new evidence had come to light which could lead them to the killer 52 years after the crime.

And last night they confirmed a team of detectives had questioned a man who says: "I was with my dad the night he killed her."

Officers from Durham Constabulary say his account is one of a series of new lines they are pursuing in a bid to solve the force's oldest unsolved murder.

Detectives are also hoping that advances in forensic technology could be used to analyse evidence gathered during the initial inquiry to identify the killer.

The 18-year-old was attacked in her home in Spenny-moor, County Durham, and left to die in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor on February 15, 1952.

The Northern Echo is aware of the identity of the new witness but has agreed not to reveal his name.

The informant was a six-year-old boy at the time, who lived in the nearby hamlet of Paige Bank.

He said he and his father called at May's home in William Street, Low Spennymoor, on the night of her death and details of the ordeal are still fresh in his mind.

He said: "I saw my dad attack May, I was there when he went for her and I got scared so I went out of the house and tried to get away out of the back gate.

"I heard a scream and he came outside and we rode away on his bike.

"He used me as an alibi to police and I didn't dare say anything different."

For most of his life the man, who now lives in Nottinghamshire, has struggled to face the fact that his father could be a vicious murderer.

He has relived the horrific images of his father fighting with the mild-mannered factory worker and the chilling screams he heard as the fatal blows were dealt.

Throughout his childhood he buried that terrible day in the back of his mind.

But since his father's death 15 years ago, he has been coming to terms with what he is convinced is the truth.

He said: "As a little boy I tried to block it out but it has troubled me for years.

"I had awful nightmares but after my dad died I started to accept they were real, I've lived with this most of my life and now I'm trying to clear it up.

"When I heard the case had been reopened I came forward and want the police to solve this case. I need some closure now for me and for the girl's family."

At the time, detectives launched a massive inquiry interviewing 50,000 people, but failed to find either the murderer or the weapon that was used to stab her 36 times.

Five children playing nearby heard a scream, and the man is now urging one of them to come forward to corroborate his story.

He recalls a young girl leaving the group of children to speak to him. If she can remember their conversation her evidence could help police.

Detective Inspector Neil Redhead said: "We have spoken to this gentleman and it is one of a number of lines of inquiry we are following."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham Police on 0191-386 4929.