Sussex Police are re-examining a 37-year-old unsolved murder in the hope that modern DNA tests will point to the killer.

Silvia Doreen Taylor, 46, was found strangled in the off-licence she managed in Nile Street, Brighton, on May 22, 1965.

Evidence from what was dubbed the Brighton Lanes Murder still exists and detectives are looking for items suitable for re-examination by scientists.

If the killer was in his 20s at the time he would now be close to 60 and could even be dead.

Even so, Detective Superintendent Kevin Moore, in charge of cold case reviews, said the crime was worth reviewing.

He said: "Samples invisible to the eye can now be enhanced and minutely examined.

"We found files for this case tucked away in an old cupboard and felt it was definitely worth looking at again for forensic possibilities."

At the time of the killing, Scotland Yard was called in to lead murder investigations and this was no exception but assisting them with the case was Jim Marshall, former head of Sussex CID and a retired councillor.

Today, he said he would happily volunteer to help the new inquiry in any way: "It was a tragic case. The woman and her family were very nice people.

"We interviewed thousands of people and worked extremely hard to find the culprit but it proved very frustrating."

Mr Marshall was enjoying a pint in The Cricketers pub in Black Lion Street, Brighton, close to the scene of the murder, when he was called in to help.

The headline in The Evening Argus at the time read "Murdered - for £62", the amount being the shop's takings for the day.

Mrs Taylor, living with her husband and two daughters in Colbourne Road, Hove, was manager of the Findlaters off-licence for about ten years.

She was cashing up when the killer came in to rob her.

Police believe he strangled her with his hands to silence her as she screamed for help.

It was nicknamed the 007 murder by some officers. The killer had cased the shop earlier in the day from a nearby newsagents, leaning on its window which carried a James Bond sign.

Police covered the window in plastic to preserve fingerprints or other evidence.

It was another Findlater manager who discovered Mrs Taylor's body and raised the alarm.

Dudley Nye had been out for a Chinese meal with his wife and was passing the off-licence when he noticed a Guinness sign still illuminated long after the store should have been closed.

He said at the time: "I suspected something was wrong and I asked my wife to wait outside.

"I went into the back office and found Mrs Taylor's body lying in the corner."

Mrs Taylor's knitting lay near her body and accounting books were open on a desk.

The safe was open and police later found the key in toilets at the Clock Tower, Brighton.

More than 50 officers worked on the case, some from other forces, including Eastbourne and Hastings, but by June 3, detectives were still no closer.

What they lacked were witnesses and speculation as to who was responsible was rife.

The inquiry slowly ground to a halt and although, as police say, the case was never closed, dust was allowed to gather on the file.

Mr Moore is keeping an open mind about his chances of finding the killer all these years later but he is going to give it a go.

He said: "You just never know."