Remains of one of Ian Brady's victim kept at Leeds University for 30 years without family's knowledge

Police kept Pauline Reade's body parts for 30 years without her family's knowledge, before officers delivered them last week, the Manchester Evening News reported.

The 16-year-old's jaw bone and samples of her hair were discovered at Leeds University after an audit following Brady's death, aged 79, on May 15 at Ashworth High Security Hospital in Maghull, Merseyside.

On Friday, it was revealed that Brady's death-bed wishes were ignored as he was cremated and disposed of without ceremony.

His body was collected from the mortuary at Royal Liverpool Hospital by a Tameside Council official at around 9pm on Wednesday October 25, newly released court documents show.

It was then taken under police escort to Southport Crematorium, where the cremation began at 10pm exactly. No music or flowers were allowed.

Following this, Brady's ashes were placed in a weighted biodegradable urn, driven to Liverpool Marina and dispatched at sea on Thursday October 26 at 2.30am.

The serial killer's crimes shocked the nation as he tortured and murdered five children in the 1960s along with Myra Hindley, who died in prison in 2002.

There were fears that the remains of Scottish-born Brady would be scattered on Saddleworth Moor - where the couple buried four of their victims.

Brady's executor, Robin Makin, gave assurances that there was "no likelihood" of this happening, but the Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Geoffrey Vos, ruled in October that the issue of disposal should be taken out of Mr Makin's hands.

Pauline Reade disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12 1963 and John Kilbride, 12, was snatched in November the same year. Keith Bennett was taken on June 16 1964 after he left home to visit his grandmother, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964, and Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965.

Brady and Hindley later confessed to the murders of Pauline and Keith, whose body has never been found.

Pauline's body was only discovered in 1987 following a search of Saddleworth Moor and her family believed they had finally laid her to rest after a funeral ceremony.

This week, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) delivered a wooden casket holding the teenager's remains to solicitors for her niece, Jackie Reade.

Ms Reade, 44, from Wythenshawe, said: "I am devastated. It has brought it all back. I am disgusted that part of Pauline could be kept like this.

"I was 13 when Pauline was found. I remember the day very clearly. My nana and grandad, (Pauline's parents) Joan and Amos, were still alive at the time."

Martin Bottomley, head of GMP's Cold Case Unit, said: "We recently became aware that human tissue belonging to Pauline Reade had been stored in external premises on behalf of GMP.

"The samples had originally been kept for investigative purposes.

"As soon as we became aware of this, we contacted Pauline's family to make arrangements so that the samples could be laid to rest in whichever way they felt most fitting.

"This is a deeply sensitive matter and understandably it has caused some upset with the family; however, we felt contacting them was the right thing to do and we have given them a number of options, all of which GMP will pay for."

Terry Kilbride, 63, whose brother John was three years his senior, said the families of victims had been told in advance what would happen to Brady's remains and he had a meeting on Thursday with his local councillor, John Taylor, and a Tameside Council solicitor, Sandra Stewart.

He said: "It just explained what had happened to Brady, him being cremated down in Southport, driven all the way through Liverpool afterwards, went out to sea with the police and dumped the urn in the sea.

"The urn was made of salt and it disintegrated after about 10 or 15 minutes of being in the water, so it will have sunk to the bottom.

"I was originally under the impression he was just going to be burnt and put in the grounds of a prison but being put in the sea is the next best thing.

"I told my family, so they knew and I told the Bennetts and the Downeys."

Mr Kilbride praised Tameside Council which, he said, fought a legal battle to frustrate Brady's last wishes and to ensure that his ashes were not scattered on Saddleworth Moor.

He added: "I honestly think he should not have had any wishes, I don't think he had any rights at all to expect anything when he died.

"This was the only way to really put the families at ease and the public as well."

Mr Kilbride described Brady as "clever and manipulative", saying he "tormented" families from his prison cell.

He added: "He always seemed to come up on TV or in the papers, it was always around an anniversary or Christmas. He actually died on John's birthday, May 15. You can imagine how that feels."