A STUDENT sleuth from Saltburn has been polishing her detective skills at a 'crime house' specially created for her university.

Celia Cordingley is one of the students on a forensic investigation course at the University of Teesside.

Lecturers have filled a terraced building in Middlesbrough with hidden clues from simulated crimes ranging from burglaries to murder. The students must collect their evidence under the watchful eye of CCTV cameras.

The £26,000 project is believed to be biggest and most elaborate of its kind at any university in the UK.

Lecturer Dr Julie Mennell said: "Crime scene examiners can be among the first on the scene and they need to know how to handle delicate situations.

"We can even arrange for other students to take on roles such as injured parties and victims of crime or the press."