NICOLA PAYNE: POLICE SEARCH CANAL

POLICE have swarmed on a sleepy village in the latest search for Nicola Payne.

Specialist divers are carrying out a canal search just outside Harborough Magna, near the B4112 on a stretch of the Oxford Canal between Rugby and Coventry.

It comes after “new information” was given to West Midlands Police about the disappearance of the teenager - who had a six-monthold baby boy at the time - in 1991.

Specialist officers on boats were gearing up for the search yesterday lunchtime.

Det Supt Samantha Ridding, head of homicide for

West Midlands Police, said up to eight officers would be involved in the search

She said: “New information has come to light in the last couple of weeks which has resulted in today us starting a search in this stretch in the canal.

“We have team of specialist officers using specialist equipment to make sure we consider every opportunity available in our search for Nicola.

“There are six to eight officers that will be searching from this team and they hope to get it completed within this week.”

In January 2018, the reward for any information leading to finding Nicola was raised to £100,000 by an anonymous donor. Nicola vanished in December 1991 as she walked home from her boyfriend’s house across a patch of land known as the Black Pad.

The teenager - who had a six-month-old baby boy at the time - was never seen again and despite a huge police investigation and numerous searches across the city, her family have never been able to lay her to rest.

Anyone with information about Nicola’s disappearance should contact the homicide team on 101, you can also contact West Midlands Police via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, or call Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111.