Family finally have answers after man went to pub toilet and never returned 57 years ago

A family of the father who was last seen visiting his local pub toilet 57 years ago finally have answers.

Dad-of-six Alfred Swinscoe, 54, visited the Miners Arms pub in Pinxton, Nottinghamshire, in January 1967 and never returned.

He told his son to go and buy a round of drinks at 10.30pm before going outside to use the toilet.

Alfred wasn't to be seen again and his remains were only just found in April last year in a farmer's field in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts.

father-of-six Alfred Swinscoe, 54, went to the pub bathroom in 1967 and was never seen again (SWNS)

Grandson, Russell Lowbridge, said: “I didn’t pay much attention to begin with, but then police posted a photo of a pair of odd socks and I had this incredible flashback, with the black sock in particular.

“I suddenly remembered as a kid putting on my granddad’s sock and pulling them up so the heel came right up to my knee.

“I called police and they came to take a DNA swab. That’s when we found out that it really was Alfred. I was shocked and flabbergasted.

“He was murdered quite viciously. There was blunt force trauma to the head and sharp force trauma to the jaw lines, so it might have been the edge of a spade, and possibly stabbing afterwards.

“They said he fought for his life. There were signs of a broken hand, as if he’d given somebody a good right hook.

“And they found trauma to his ribs and his back, as if he'd been grappling with someone and they'd been punching him in the ribs.

“Police believe he’d been left somewhere for a week or more before they buried him, because there were fingers and ribs missing as if he’d been ravaged by foxes and badgers. Whoever killed him went back to make sure he was never found.”

Grandson, Russell Lowbridge, has been left saddened by the revelation (SWNS)

In January, Alfred was finally laid to rest in a Sutton-in-Ashfield cemetery, buried with his son, daughter and wife, who never remarried after Alfred's disappearance.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Alfred died in the most horrendous way imaginable.

“Not only did he suffer violent injuries, but he was then buried in a field so that no one would find him.

“What makes this crime even more distressing is that it has taken more than 50 years for his remains to be found and for his family to be reunited with their loved one so he can have a proper burial.

“Of course, there will be little relief for his family as there are still so many unanswered questions of what happened that night and the motive behind his murder.

“Many of the people who would have been with Alfred that night, or knew Alfred, are no longer alive and we may never get the full picture of what occurred in January 1967.

“That certainly hasn’t stifled our determination to investigate this crime and leave no stone unturned to find his killer or killers."