Police say they are still hopeful of solving a double child murder nearly half a century on since two boys were attacked and left for dead.

School friends John Greenwood and Gary Miller, both 11, were beaten and left partially hidden under a mattress when they were discovered by a dog walker off Pottery Lane in Whiston, Merseyside, on 16 August 1980.

Both later died in hospital from their injuries.

Merseyside Police urged anyone with information to come forward, saying it was "never too late to do the right thing".

Soon after the murders, a 20-year-old local man, who had learning difficulties, was identified as matching the description of a man witnessed near the scene of the murder, which now the site of Stadt Moers Park.

Under questioning he confessed to beating the two boys to death, claiming they had sworn at him, and was charged with their murders.

However he retracted his statement and pleaded not guilty ahead of a trial.

He was acquitted by a jury in 1981 after his legal team highlighted police failings in the way he was interrogated.

After a campaign by John and Gary's families, and changes to double jeopardy laws that prevented a suspect from being tried twice for the same crime, Merseyside Police re-opened the case in 2016.

In 2020, then-chief constable Andy Cooke apologised and said the force had not found "compelling new evidence" to convince the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to allow them to re-interview the original suspect.

"Having carried out a number of cold case reviews and following the re-investigation of the murder, it is fair to say that the investigation was not as thorough as it could have been, or in line with the investigation standards expected of policing today," he said at the time.

In 2020, Gary's mother Alma appeared on Crimewatch Roadshow and said the boys had been "just normal 11-year-old children... they did nobody any harm".

Speaking to the BBC One programme, John's mother Barbara also said she needed to see her son's murderer caught.

"We feel like we've let the boys down [as] they've never had their justice," she said.

"[Their killer] deliberately left them to die. I can't get that out of my head."

Merseyside Police have urged an unidentified "lone white" man - seen near the site at the time by the dog-walker who found the children - to come forward.

He was described as about 35 and white, with dark hair that was swept back.

He was also said to be wearing a brown jacket.

Det Ch Insp Graeme Osborne said: "We know that during that time people living in the area will have moved on, moved away and even started their own families but John and Gary's family still have to live with their loss.

"No family should have to go through what they have been through and not get the justice they deserve.

"Our plea remains the same - if you have information and haven't yet come forward then please do so.

"It is never too late to do the right thing and any piece of information we receive, either directly or anonymously, will be looked into."