Road checks in search for woman

Gillian Merrick pictured with her husband Nick

Police investigating the disappearance of a Northamptonshire woman have spoken to about 300 motorists in the area where she was last seen.

Gillian Merrick went missing late on New Year's Day from the Oundle home she shares with her husband Nick and teenage son and daughter.

A week after her disappearance, police spoke to dozens of drivers in the area in a bid to find the 45-year-old.

Mr Merrick has issued public appeals for help in finding his wife.

Separate sightings

Searches have been carried out in and around Oundle by police and volunteers, including some of Mrs Merrick's colleagues.

Divers are continuing to search waterways in the area and the police helicopter has been used in the search, but no trace of Mrs Merrick has been found.

The search has also extended to East Sussex, where the family used to live.

Police made a new appeal in connection with sightings of a woman seen walking away from Oundle alongside the A605 early on 2 January.

There had been two separate sightings of the woman, but there was nothing to establish whether or not it was Mrs Merrick, police said.

If it was not, the woman has been asked to make herself known to police so she can be eliminated from the inquiry.