'Disturbed earth' examined in hunt for missing girls

Police investigating the disappearance of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman said tonight they were examining two areas of recently disturbed earth in Warren Hill, near Newmarket, Suffolk.

The wooded area has been sealed off and scenes of crime officers are at the area, less than 10 miles from where the 10-year-old girls disappeared.A jogger reported the discovery, Cambridgeshire Police added.

The man told officers he had heard screams coming from the area at about 11pm on the night the girls went missing.

A large area of woodland has been cordoned off.

Police officers were stationed along the route every hundred yards preventing anyone from crossing the boundary.

It was not possible to see what was going on through the dense woodland but forensic scientists were understood to be working at the scene.

The woodland is on a hill next to the racecourse overlooking Newmarket.