THE chief executive of a Barrow charity has stressed that the life of Sabina Nessa should 'not disappear as a statistic' in the wake of her murder in London.

The 28-year-old teacher's body was found in Cator Park in the south-east of the city on Saturday.

The news has sent shockwaves around the country and led some to draw parallels with the death of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old who was murdered by a police officer in Clapham in March.

Vanessa Dixon, CEO of the Barrow-based Birchall Trust, which supports people affected by rape, sexual abuse and sexualised violence, dismissed comments made by a police boss following the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, of the Metropolitan Police, said 'the streets are safe for women' despite Ms Nessa's death.

But Ms Dixon said such comments 'do little to convince women of the fact that they are able to feel safe'.

"The Government has promised funding to improve safety for women but, as of yet, we are not seeing that really make any difference," said Ms Dixon.

"It is more than improved lighting and CCTV - this is about challenging and changing behaviours of a society.

"After Sarah Everard was killed, we said 'no more'. However, dozens of women have been killed.

"Sabina Nessa’s name should be heard - her life should not disappear as a statistic.

"All women deserve safety, anywhere and everywhere."

Detectives are considering the possibility that Ms Nessa was killed by a stranger who is still at large. A man in his 40s was arrested and released under investigation after the attack.

At Cator Park yesterday, where flowers had been laid beside a police cordon, DCI Lawry was asked if police were concerned the killer could attack another person.

He said: "We have lines of inquiry that we’re pursuing at the moment.

“It’s always a concern that it may happen, but that’s not something that we have any intelligence on at this time.”

Officers have said that Ms Nessa was on her way to The Depot bar in Kidbrooke Village at around 8.30pm last Friday.

It was a journey that should have taken just five minutes from her Astell Road home.

A post-mortem examination, carried out on Monday, was inconclusive.