The off duty special constable who stumbled across the shocking shallow grave of the murder victim who became known as 'Fred the head' thought he had found an old bag of cement.

David Nathan said at the time: "What I found was like what a dog had unearthed — what looked like an old bag of cement. I went back and got a spade and found the body."

Fred the head would go on to become one of Staffordshire’s most baffling murder mysteries and one that is still unsolved 46 years on.

This week there has been a major breakthrough in the case after detectives used new dental records techniques, as well as high-tech reconstruction methods to create a striking image what the victim would have looked like. It has led to the revelation that the body might be that of John Henry Jones who went missing from his home North Wales in 1970. Police are now in touch with the man's family.

Who was the young man, dubbed Fred the Head by press at the time?

We know he was found naked on an island in the River Trent, off Newton Road, Winshill, partially buried in a kneeling position and with his hands and ankles tied behind his back on March 27, 1971. All he was wearing were pink socks and a gold wedding ring.

Discovery of Fred the Head
Police at the scene where the body was found

As the years went advanced analysis allowed a more detailed description of the dead man to be published. He is described as 23 to 39, 5ft 8in and with short, straight brown hair.

He had upper dentures and "extensive" dental work to his bottom teeth. He also had a prominent lower jaw and suffered from torticollis - a neck condition which would have resulted in his head hanging to the right.

Despite this unusual description, no-one has been able, or willing, to come forward and help the police.

The case featured on BBC One’s Crimewatch show in 2006 and, more recently, on the channel’s Crimewatch Roadshow where a more detailed reconstruction of his face has been unveiled.

Despite a major three-year investigation in the 1970s, police never succeeded in identifying the dead man — or catching his killers.

David Nathan, who found the body while going out for an evening shoot, told the Burton Mail some years ago: "It's amazing. I went to the scene about four or five months ago and it was just as I left it.

"Unfortunately, I remember the day very vividly. I couldn't believe it — I was going out shooting.

"What I found was like what a dog had unearthed — what looked like an old bag of cement. I went back and got a spade and found the body."

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Garrett, who led the enquiry in 2006, said there could be someone — in Burton or anywhere in the UK — who had a husband, son or brother go missing in 1969 or 1970, who they've never traced.

He said: "It is very rare for an unexplained death to remain unsolved in Staffordshire and when new investigative tools are available, as in this case, we will take advantage of them."

Retired DCI Peter Hough is pictured on the the TV show Crimewatch Roadshow first investigated the murder at the time and hopes it will be solved after all these years
Retired DCI Peter Hough is pictured on the the TV show Crimewatch Roadshow

The macabre discovery was unearthed around 150 yards from Newton Road recreation ground and within sight of the Burton Flour Mill in March 1971.

The decomposed remains appeared to have been there for some years.

David Nathan, who worked as an employee of Messrs Time Consortium, which had an office backed on to the piece of land where the body was found, came across the grim site while walking through the area with his sporting gun.

Facial recognition using cutting-edge technology has let us see Fred for the first time. Left is the first newspaper reports
Facial recognition using cutting-edge technology has let us see Fred for the first time. Left is the first newspaper reports

He had just crossed a wooden footbridge when he saw what appeared to be part of a skull protruding out of the ground.

Mr Nathan, who was a member of the special constabulary, immediately reported the gruesome find to Burton Police Station and officers quickly returned to the scene.

Digging operations began, led by Chief Superintendent Raymond Felgate, in a bid to find out exactly what had happened.

Although officers refused to speculate on the nature of the death or the identity at the time, rumours had originally circulated around the town that it was the body of a woman in her early 20s.

Detective Superintendent Frank Jordan confirmed the discovery of the skull to a group of reporters at the scene and that it had appeared to have been there for ‘some years’.

Detective Chief Superintendent Harold Wright said at the time: “We have located a skull and the top part of a torso but we do not know yet if there is a complete body or whether it is in a standing, sitting or lying position.

“We are unable to say how long it has been here – it may be 30 years or much more.”

Now, work by dental experts who have scoured the missing person’s register have linked Fred with that of a missing Welsh man, John Henry Jones, who has not been seen since 1970.

His family have now come forward and DNA will be taken to find out once and for all who Fred was.

Of course, if it does not turn out to be the same man, it is still encouraging to see that after all these years police will not give up on Fred and his killers might be brought to justice.