Five decades after 12-year-old Keith Bennett was killed, Moors murderer Ian Brady is believed to have revealed details about where his body is buried.

Greater Manchester Police have released a statement saying the killer had finally disclosed details of the location of the body to one of his long-term visitors at the high-security hospital where he is being detained.

A police spokesman said: "Officers in the cold case unit made inquiries to verify the accuracy of this report and have since had extensive contact with Ashworth hospital and Keith's close family.

"As a result, warrants obtained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act were executed at Ashworth Hospital and a private address in South Wales.

"A 49-year-old woman has been arrested in south Wales on suspicion of preventing the burial of a body without lawful exercise and remains in police custody for questioning. Searches of both locations are ongoing."

While Brady has revealed where some of his victims were buried, until now, he has always refused to disclose any details about the location of Keith's body, despite pleas from his family.

His refusal has caused constant heartache for Keith's mother, Winnie Johnson, who has cancer and recently appealed for Brady to break his silence before she died.

Brady and his partner, Myra Hindley, who died in jail in 2002 aged 60, were responsible for the murders of five youngsters in the 1960s.

They lured the children and teenagers to their deaths, with victims sexually tortured before being buried on Saddleworth Moor above Manchester.