Anthony Cavanagh and his mum Pat

Detectives from Merseyside Police say there has been a positive response from the public following last night's Crimewatch show on BBC One, which included an appeal for information in the Anthony Cavanagh murder investigation.

Officers who travelled to London from Liverpool to answer the phones in the BBC studio had fielded at least 15 calls and a number of text messages related to this case by the end of the night.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Keelan, said: "We have received a very positive response from the public following the Crimewatch appeal last night.

"Out of those we had one really important one from someone calling us anonymously with information about who may have thrown the punch and we also received a text message providing us with names of who was there when Anthony was attacked.

"We really need to speak to both those people again so I would appeal for them to re-contact us as their information may be crucial to bringing those responsible for Anthony's death to justice

"It was a very encouraging response and I would like to thank the public for contacting us and would urge anyone else who has information to contact the incident room on 0151 777 4064 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

"Anyone who did not see the programme can watch the appeal on the Crimewatch website: www.bbc.co.uk/crimewatch."