Interpol asks for help cracking cold case of 'girl with the 10-pence coin' who was killed 40 years ago

The female is said to have been between 16 and 23 at the time of her death, and is listed as one of the 46 cold cases in the agency's "Operation Identify Me" campaign

The body of a young woman was found on the side of a motorway in France more than four decades ago - and all she had on her was a 10p coin.

Now Interpol is asking for help cracking the cold case, which is thought to have links to the UK.

The female is said to have been between 16 and 23 at the time of her death, and is listed as one of the 46 cold cases in the agency's "Operation Identify Me" campaign - which seeks to identify women slain across Europe in the late 20th Century.

Interpol has published details of the women and girls on their website.

The case in question is FR01 - which Interpol dubbed "The girl with the 10-pence coin" - and is thought to have links to the UK.

She was found on the side of a motorway in Le Cellier, northeast France, and has remained unidentified since the discovery of her corpse on November 25, 1982.

At the time of her death, all she was carrying was a 10p coin, a small box of matches, and a telephone token.

She was described as a white 5ft 5in female with brown hair and "perfect" teeth. Investigators added that it was strange that she had not had any dental treatment.

She was thought to have been killed between June and September that year, and was found in a "state of skeletonisation", which meant vital details like eye colour, tattoos, birthmarks and scars were lost.

Evidence that could help identify her included the clothes she was wearing, like the blue Loys-brand jeans in a size 38, a dark leather belt, a ruffle-neck white pinstriped blouse, and European size 38 shoes from the brand Bata, reports the MailOnline.

Several pieces of jewellery were also found on her person, including a gold-coloured metal chain, which was holding a wooden pendant shaped like a bowling pin. The keepsake was often worn by soldiers who'd finished their military tours.

A metal keyring shaped like Napoleon, a black leather choker, and four metal bracelets were also found on her body.

At the time of the discovery, French detective Franc Dannerolle said her body had been thrown by the road "like garbage", and that "there was no respect, no care for her before her death".

French police worked on the assumption that she was British, or had recently been to the UK, because she was found with the 10p coin.

They withheld details of how she was killed to prevent people falsely claiming responsibility.