THE niece of a Barrow woman whose body was found at the bottom of a lake more than 20 years after she was reported missing, has condemned an author for publishing a book about her tragic death.

Thirty-year-old Carol Ann Park was reported missing in 1976 but her body was found at the bottom of Coniston Water by amateur divers 21 years later. In 2005, Mrs Park's husband Gordon was convicted of her murder but hanged himself in prison five years later.

A new book entitled, A Very Cumbrian Murder , has been written by retired solicitor Douglas Richard Binstead, who was involved in the prosecution of Mr Park.

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His decision to publish a book has left Mrs Park's niece Kay Washford furious after he decided not to contact the family beforehand.

She said: "I am annoyed that he can write a book when he has not got all of the facts. I could have told him how the family felt and how awful it was for us having to see Gordon acting all smarmy in court."

The 54-year-old, who was 14 when her auntie went missing, is confident that her uncle did deliver the final blow and that justice has been served.

Mrs Washford said: "We waited years for Carol to come back but she never did. To then find a body was horrendous and it was horrible growing up with this hanging over us.

"The right decision was definitely made. All the evidence proved it, especially the fact that he didn't report her missing until six weeks after; no man does that if his wife doesn't come back home.

"He knew what he had done and he thought the longer he could cover his tracks the longer he could get away with murder."

Mrs Washford, who now lives in Chorley, remembers when her auntie went missing and described it as "upsetting" and "traumatic", especially given that it happened only seven years after her other aunt, Christine Price, was strangled to death.

She has fond memories of her aunt and described her as a "bubbly person who always had a smile on her face."

She said: "Carol cared about my dad, Ivor, lots. They had a really close relationship. I knew there were problems with Carol and Gordon's marriage and that really affected my Dad as he supported her the best he could."

Mr and Mrs Park's children, Jeremy and Rachel, are still protesting their father's innocence to this day which caused a massive rift in the family.

However, Mrs Washford completely understands their reasons for supporting their father.

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The mum-of-two added: "I can't blame them, because I think any normal child has that strong bond with their parents and you will do anything you can to stand by them and support them and they're exactly the same because I know they loved their dad.

"He brought them up but I wonder if in the back of their minds they might be thinking along the lines of a lot of us. I can't be in contact with them when they're thinking like that. It has torn our family in two."

The murder case has caused Mrs Washford an incredible amount of anguish and she is keen to move on from the pain caused by her auntie's death

However, she also wants an author to help her and her sister, Claire Gardner, write their own book detailing their version of events.

She said: "I want to give my side of the story and if any author wants to help us out we can tell them the truth about how Carol's death affected our family."