POLICE investigating the disappearance of a missing Accrington mother carried out a five hour search of the area around her home.

But officers searching for mother-of-six Zainab Begum were unable to find anything which could help with their inquiries.

Mrs Begum has not been seen for two and a half weeks and police say they are becoming increasingly concerned about her whereabouts.

A police sergeant and six officers from Lancashire Operations Support Unit began the search around her Burnley Road home at 8am yesterday.

Det Chief Insp Steve Brunskill said: "The search is now complete and we have not found anything we consider significant.

"We looked at the immediate area around her home address in case she was collapsed or lying down there.

"We were also looking for any clues that she may have gone somewhere, but we have not found her."

Police arrested a man on Thursday in connection with her disappearance and her daughter, Samina Amin, 31, of Queen's Road West, Accrington, said she had given up hope of seeing her mother alive.

The man was today being questioned further.

This weekend, officers will continue with house-to-house inquiries and will also study CCTV footage.

Mr Brunskill said: "House-to-house inquiries could continue for some time as we don't always get people in and some may be away, so we have to go back.

"So far, there have been no sightings or information gleaned from these inquiries.

"We are also doing quite a bit of work with her family and friends and are looking to see if there is any other explanation for why she has gone missing."

When she went missing, Mrs Begum was wearing a black headscarf, black woollen coat, black shoes and spectacles.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts should contact Accrington police on 01254 353730 or the National Missing Persons Helpline on 0500 700 700.