A MURDER inquiry is under way after police confirmed that a body found in isolated woodland was that of missing teenager Leanne Tiernan.

Detectives said Leanne, 16, of Bramley, Leeds, who has been missing since November last year, had been strangled.

The teenager's body was discovered by a man walking his dog in undergrowth in Lindley Wood, near Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, on Monday afternoon.

The body had been found in plastic bags which had been wrapped in a quilt cover.

Initial investigations revealed no evidence of sexual interference, detectives said - adding that the body had not been buried but was concealed in undergrowth and was clothed.

Officers will continue to search the woods where the body was found for several days. Detective Superintendent Chris Gregg, of West Yorkshire Police, said it was believed Leanne had been killed somewhere else and her body dumped at the isolated beauty spot.

"We are determined to catch the man responsible for this tragic death. She has been brutally murdered," he said.

The officer said: "Further tests are being carried out to determine the length of time the body has been there. It is unclear at this stage but it is not believed to have been there since last November."

Leanne was last seen at 4.50pm on Sunday, November 26, last year, when she parted company with a friend in Bramley after a shopping trip to Leeds.

Mr Gregg said Leanne's parents, Sharon Hawkhead and Michael Tiernan, who are separated, were devastated when told the body was that of their daughter.

Leanne's grandmother, Kathleen Tiernan, said: "We are all very shocked and just hope they catch the man responsible."