WILTSHIRE detectives have started the re-investigation into the death of student Rachel Whitear, following concerns raised by her parents.

Ms Whitear, who was 21, was found dead in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000 apparently from a drug overdose, and the shocking pictures of her body were later used in an anti-drugs video.

But following concerns raised by Ms Whitear's parents about the original investigation by the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the Police Complaints Authority has appointed Wiltshire Constabulary to carry out the re-investigation.

It is being headed by Detective Superintendent Paul Howlett, who was appointed head of CID at Wiltshire Constabulary earlier this year.

He and a team of Wiltshire officers have started the investigation and were due to meet Ms Whitear's parents this week.

Det Supt Howlett, who is the former head of Wiltshire Police's complaints department, will conduct the investigation alongside his other duties in Wiltshire and he will spend some time in Devon.

He said: "We are concerned to ensure that the family's concerns are fully investigated."

Devon and Cornwall Police voluntarily asked the Police Complaints Authority to supervise the inquiry.

Photographs of Ms Whitear's body were printed in newspapers and included on a drugs education video shown in schools, with the consent of her family.

Ms Whitear was found dead clutching a used syringe but suspicions grew about how she died after blood tests revealed only a small amount of heroin in her body.

A post mortem examination was not carried out and there is a possibility that Ms Whitear's body could be exhumed.

Ms Whitear's mother, Pauline Holcroft, from Ledbury, in Herefordshire, wanted her daughter's death investigated by an outside police force. She was unhappy with the two investigations carried out by Devon and Cornwall Police.

She said: "We have always been angry a post mortem examination was not carried out. That is unforgivable.

"They weren't being harassed by us to release her body for a funeral and they must have believed it was a foregone conclusion that she died from a heroin overdose. But they should have made sure of that."

The inquest into Ms Whitear's death heard that her boyfriend, Luke Fitzgerald, a 25-year-old drug addict, lied to police about meeting her at 11am on the day she died.

Duncan Gear, a member of the Police Complaints Authority, will supervise the investigation. He said: "I will seek to ensureMs Whitear's parents get the answers that they deserve. The inquiry will review the circumstances that led up to Ms Whitear's death."