SHORTLY after 10pm on Saturday, August 24 1991, Veronica Anderson received a phone call.

After hanging up, she dashed out of her home on Hadfield Close in Widnes without taking her purse with her and leaving the television on.

The mum-of-two left dropped her seven-year-old son Neil with a neighbour, saying she would only be gone for 10 minutes.

Five hours later, she was found dead.

Her throat had been slashed, and she had been strangled.

But 30 years later, her murder still remains unsolved.

The identity of the caller remains a mystery, but at around 10.30pm a woman matching the description of Veronica – who was known as Vera – was sighted in the Crown and Cushion pub in Warrington.

She was seen talking to a white man in his late 30s or early 40s with short, mousey-coloured hair and a moustache and who was wearing a fawn-coloured jacket.

Runcorn and Widnes World:

A police sketch of the man in the pub

He too has never been traced, and this is the last reported sighting of the 42-year-old alive.

Shortly after 3am on Sunday, August 25 1991, her lifeless body was found slumped over the steering wheel of her blue Ford Cortina car on nearby Tannery Lane.

There was no evidence of a robbery or a sexual assault, although the killer left behind a blood-stained glove and a length of cord.

It is believed that Vera, who ran a business making and selling sandwiches, was killed at some point between 11.30pm and 2.30am.

Her pregnant 19-year-old daughter was given the grim task of identifying her mother’s body.

Despite a £30,000 reward for information over the murder having been offered, no conviction has ever been secured.

Detective inspector Adam Waller told the Warrington Guardian on the 30th anniversary of her death:  "Vera’s family have been left devastated by her death and have had to live with what happened since 1991.

"The family have never received closure from Vera’s death, and I would appeal to anyone with information to come forward.

"Someone must know what had happened that day, and I would appeal to them to come forward.

"We appreciate that 30 years is a long time ago, but the smallest detail may help us in bringing justice for Vera and her family."

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Cheshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 0709373610, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.