A MOTHER has spoken of the hope that the murderer of her teenage daughter will one day be caught.

Schoolgirl Lisa Hession was found strangled 500 yards from her home on Bonnywell Road, Leigh, on December 8, 1984.

Speaking on the eve of the 30th anniversary of her death, Lisa's mother Christine Hession, said she lives “in hope” and is always thinking about her daughter, who would now be aged 44.

But the police investigation is now at a dead end and officers are desperate for new information that might help them trace Lisa's killer.

Mrs Hession searched the streets in vain for Lisa on the night of the murder, before police eventually knocked on her door, telling her she had to go to Leigh Infirmary to identify the body.

Lisa, aged 14 when she died, was found in an alleyway off Rugby Road just before midnight and had been sexually assaulted.

She had been at a friend’s house with her boyfriend, but walked home alone at about 10.15pm and never reached her destination.

No one has ever been charged with her murder.

Mrs Hession said: “After all this time you do keep hoping but nothing seems to come from it.

“The police do have a liaison officer who keeps in touch with me, and they just say it’s still ongoing.

“They do as many tests as they can but if the person is not in the system they cannot trace them.

“I always think of her and we all live in hope.”

Officers retrieved DNA from the scene, which has been central to their investigation.

In 2011, detectives probing the murder swabbed groups of men in Leigh and Wigan in the hope of finding a full or partial DNA match with Lisa’s killer.

But, they have still found no matches, despite receiving dozens of calls following a BBC Crimewatch appeal in 2005.

Mrs Hession added: “It’s 30 years now but it does not seem five minutes to me. I don’t know where all this time has gone.

“It is more bearable now and life does go on and I just have to get on with it.

“I would be so angry if it was somebody that I know or someone had been in touch with us and then I found out that they had been involved.

“They could be out of town or dead.”

Martin Bottomley, head of Greater Manchester Police's Cold Case Review Unit, said: "We never put cold cases down and never forget about them.

"We always conduct a fresh review of them every two years and will follow up any call that is made to us.

"It is very sad and we will continue to strive to find out what happened to Lisa."

Mrs Hession, aged 68, has no other children, and plans to spend the anniversary day having a meal out with her friends and brother.

She added: “We are a strong family and we support each other.

“But we can’t forget what’s happened.”

Anyone with information should call GMP’s Cold Case Review Unit on 0161 8565961.