Children of Jamie-Leigh Kelly found as police arrest 31-year-old woman

Children taken into police protection and then to hospital as a precaution

Two children reported missing from a centre for vulnerable mothers and children in north-west London on Tuesday have been found “safe and well” in Essex, police said.

Jamie-Leigh Kelly left the centre on Tuesday with her three-year-old daughter and newborn baby boy.

A Metropolitan Police statement said the children were found at an address in Harwich on Sunday, but officers are still trying to locate Ms Kelly. The children were taken into police protection and then to hospital as a precaution.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested later on Sunday after attending an east London police station and was also taken to hospital for precautionary checks, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

They added: “We are no longer appealing for information about the whereabouts of Jamie-Leigh Kelly.”

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who is overseeing the investigation, said: “We are very pleased, and of course relieved, to have found the two children after extensive enquiries over the past few days.

“They are safe and well and receiving precautionary medical attention.”

A 63-year-old woman was arrested at the address in Essex on Sunday on suspicion of child abduction, assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice, a Met spokesperson said.

She remains in custody at an east London police station.

Two other people have been charged as part of the investigation, the Met said.

Ashley Hawkins, 52, of Alex Guy Gardens, Dagenham, and Jordan Hardy, 30, of Connor Road, Dagenham, are due to appear at Southend Magistrates’ Court in Essex on Monday, charged with two counts of child abduction, the force said.