DETECTIVES are following a number of new leads which emerged from a school visit in a desperate attempt to find a missing teenage girl.

Sarah Louise Watson, now 15, disappeared at 11.15pm on July 19, when she took a taxi from her home in Leamington Avenue to go with her cousin to her home in Rosehill Road.

She was expected to continue in the taxi and return home but failed to turn up and was reported missing three days later.

Nearly six weeks into the investigation Det Sgt Dave Groombridge, who is leading the hunt for the missing girl, visited St Hilda's High School, Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, where Sarah is a pupil to speak to an assembly of students to try and gather more clues.

He said he was overwhelmed by the amount of cooperation he received from pupils.

He said: "We appealed to the whole school for information which went remarkably well. I had a number of children come forward and speak to me. Some of the information received we already knew about and some of it was things we didn't know about.

"We are now going to take this information and use it to help us with our inquiries. A number of new leads are now being followed as a result of this extremely useful visit."

Detectives think that Sarah is living in the area after a number of unconfirmed sightings have been reported in Burnley, Nelson and Manchester over the past couple of weeks.

Sarah is 5ft 7in tall and slim, with light brown, shoulder-length hair. She was last seen was wearing a navy blue jacket, three-quarter-length tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.

Det Sgt Groombridge said there had been several unconfirmed sightings of Sarah since her disappearance, but that police were anxious to confirm she was safe.

He added: "We believe Sarah is still in the area, perhaps in Nelson but we are worried about her welfare and would urge her to let us or her family know that she is safe and well."