Alfred Swinscoe: Grandson's plea over mystery of miner found murdered in Sutton-in-Ashfield

• Video report by Lisa Adlam

The grandson of a murdered miner has spoken of his heartache at living close to the field where the body lay undiscovered for more than 50 years.

Alfred Swinscoe's remains were unearthed by a farmer digging a trench off Coxmoor Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield, North Nottinghamshire, on 26 April this year.

The discovery – 56 years after Mr Swinscoe disappeared following a visit to a nearby pub – sparked a murder investigation.

For his family it brought an end to the mystery over his whereabouts, but brought fresh grief.

Returning to the field where his grandfather was found, Mr Swinscoe's grandson Russell Lowbridge, who lives less than five miles away in Kirkby in Ashfield, said: "Fifty-six years he has been laying in a field and the upsetting thing is it's so close, yet so far away.

"I wouldn't like to count the number of times me and my family have driven by that field and he's probably been shouting out to us 'I'm here, I'm here' and we just didn't know.

"The thought of him lying there all those years is very upsetting."

Mr Swinscoe, a father-of-six and a colliery worker, who loved pigeon racing, was last seen drinking at the Pinxton Miners Arms in Derbyshire in early 1967 before he disappeared.

He handed his son, Gary, money to buy a round and went to use the outside toilet but never returned.

Mr Swinscoe's fate remained a mystery until the remains were found and Nottinghamshire Police were contacted.

Extensive DNA work ruled out three victims of other murders where bodies had never been found.

There was no breakthrough until Mr Lowbridge, who was four when his grandfather went missing, contacted police following a media appeal for information.

He told officers items of clothing found with the remains, including two distinctive socks and a shoe, were believed to be his grandfather's.

DNA tests on Mr Swinscoe's family members matched the bones exhumed from the ground.

Mr Lowbridge said: "When they put the [pictures of the] socks up I got these incredible flashbacks that I'd seen these socks before, not necessarily that I remember them being grandad's, but of wearing them myself and them being too big.

"I made the enquiry with the police and thought nothing would come of it, but they came back and took DNA from me and then they came back not long after and confirmed it matched. That was a bit of a shock. and there was shock in all the family."

The discovery came after Mr Swinscoe's son, Gary, had died still not knowing what had happened to his father.

Mr Lowbridge said: "The tragic thing was my uncle Gary couldn't let it go and it haunted him to his death bed. The reason I know so much about his disappearance is because uncle Gary couldn't let it go.

"He used to tell me he would go back to Pinxton, searching disused buildings, looking down wells, asking people 'Have you seen dad?'."

Nottinghamshire Police say they are determined to solve case despite the time that has past.

Mr Lowbridge said: "We don't know why would anybody want to hurt him. We don't know what to think about what could have happened to him.

"We know the chances are slim because we know even the person that murdered him could be dead but we don't know. All we can do is try."