Runaways may be in Scotland

The pair are said to be "besotted" with one another

Runaway schoolgirl Amanda McDonnell may have been spotted in the north of Scotland, police have revealed.

The 14-year-old British girl, who has run away from her home in Spain with her boyfriend, is now thought to in the Forres area of Morayshire.

A police spokeswoman confirmed there has been a number of possible sightings of Amanda and 17-year-old Steven Laing in the area.

The couple left Amanda's home near Alicante, Spain, at 0400 BST on September 12, taking a Belgian-registered grey Opel Omega estate car belonging to her family.

They are believed to have false passports which show they are 18, and Amanda's mother and stepfather, Carol and Malcolm Beech, suspect the pair have taken a ferry to Britain.

On Wednesday, Steven's mother, Susan Laing, 35, said she believed the couple were heading to Perth, Scotland, where he used to live.

Abandoned car

Amanda went to live in Spain a year ago when her family moved from Wolverhampton and Steven had been living with Amanda's family before the couple fled.

Police said they are also investigating a sighting of an abandoned Belgian registered car on a road near Kirkintilloch in the Glasgow area.

The young couple met four or five months ago, when Steven worked at a local bar at Alfaz del Pi, between Altea and Benidorm, Spain.

Mrs Beech, 43, said the teenagers also took money and credit cards when they left.

She described the teenagers as being "besotted" with each other.