THE lack of public goodwill towards police investigating the murder of David Williamson is both baffling and disappointing.

In March, Mr Williamson was bludgeoned from behind on a quiet roadside and left to die. It was a brutal attack.

Yet villagers from Sutton-on-the-Forest and Huby have proved stubbornly reluctant to help detectives with their inquiries. In June, police described the lack of public information as "shocking".

With so little testimony from villagers, detectives were forced to rely on forensic evidence. But even here, their work has been frustrated by a lack of co-operation.

They discovered a DNA profile near the body which they believe may come from Mr Williamson's killer. To help them to rule out potential suspects, police asked local men to volunteer for a DNA swab, with an assurance that the samples would be destroyed after the investigation.

Today they revealed that this call has been answered by just 100 people - a third of what they hoped for. This pathetic response will lead outsiders to wonder what secrets villagers seem determined to keep.

A man has been murdered, yards from his home. That is shocking enough. But the apparent unwillingness of Mr Williamson's neighbours to help to catch his killer is chilling.

Now the police, whose resources are already stretched, may be forced to undertake the time-consuming exercise of interviewing all those who failed to give a DNA sample.

It is not too late for villagers to do the right thing, and start fully co-operating with detectives. We urge them to do so.

Updated: 11:48 Friday, November 30, 2001