A TEENAGER told police she saw her mother and father murder her sister by forcing a bag into her mouth and suffocating her, a court has heard.

Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed are accused of killing their 17-year-old daughter Shafilea in the family home in September, 2003.

The murder was allegedly witnessed by Shafilea's sister Alesha, who kept the secret for seven years.

Andrew Edis, QC, told Chester Crown Court: "She [Alesha] describes what is an act of suffocation by both her parents acting together." He added: "She had a bag forced into her mouth."

Mr Edis said Alesha, who is on witness protection, will tell the court how she saw her parents in the kitchen of their home in Liverpool Road, Warrington, with bin bags and tape, wrapping the body up.

Shafilea's decomposed remains were discovered in Cumbria in February 2004 but it was not until 2010 that her sister Alesha provided the "final piece of the puzzle" about her death, the court has heard.

Ahmed and his wife, aged 52 and 49, both deny murder. The trial continues today.