DETECTIVES investigating York's body-in-a-suitcase murder mystery are following up numerous calls from the public.

Many people living in the Askham Richard and Bilbrough area - where a woman's bound and gagged body was discovered in a case at the base of a hedgerow on Sunday - have called police to report suspicious incidents.

And people from further afield have phoned to suggest possible names for the dead woman, who is thought to be of Asian or Oriental origin.

But Detective Chief Inspector Alan Ankers, leading the investigation, warned today it could be a "long and difficult" inquiry, and said police needed all the help they could get from the public.

"I am pleased with the immediate response to the media appeals, but we need the calls to continue," he said.

He revealed that other police forces across the country had been contacted and asked to check through missing persons records.

Prisoners from Askham Grange Jail could be among those with important information.

The prison is situated across the fields from the country road where the case was found, and a number of inmates regularly walk along the road while going to work nearby.

Police, who have appealed for help from anyone who has walked or ridden along the road recently, are particularly wanting to hear from anyone who may have seen the case before Sunday, but thought nothing of it and decided not to call the police.

Anyone seeing a vehicle being driven suspiciously in the area may also be able to assist.

One prisoner told the Evening Press yesterday that the murder had "spooked" women at the jail, particularly as some frequently walked past the spot where the case was found.

Governor Ian Simmonds said he was in the process of asking all prisoners who had gone along the road in recent weeks if they had seen the case, or anything else which might assist the police's inquiries.

Updated: 10:39 Wednesday, November 21, 2001