A GIRL who prompted a massive search after going missing today apologised and said that the case of teenager Milly Dowler had made her realise what she had done.

Gemma Wrighton caused a police operation running into thousands of pounds when she did not tell friends that she was going back to a friend's house after a night out in Blackburn in January.

Blackburn police feared the worst after they had failed to find any clues from an extensive search using CCTV, hospitals, family and friends and the Press.

Gemma's friends last saw her get into a black cab outside the Utopia nightclub in Blackburn at around 2am on Sunday January 27 and she did not phone home until Wednesday after she had seen the story about her in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Gemma, 22, who lives at Mitchell Street in Clitheroe said: "When I saw the recent case of the missing Milly, it really brought home to me how much upset I had caused."

Thirteen-year-old Amanda Dowler, known as Milly, disappeared from her home in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey two weeks ago after she left friends to walk home.

Surrey police have spent hours searching gardens, woodland and scanning CCTV pictures and, although they feared she was abducted, they believe she may have simply run away from home.

Gemma, a former Ribblesdale High School pupil, said: "I am really sorry. I didn't know how much trouble I had caused. I rang the police to say sorry and they were fine, they were just pleased to know that I was safe.

"My advice to anyone who has gone missing or has run away is to just get in contact with someone, anyone, no matter what."

Her father, Colin Wrighton, a 48-year-old HGV driver, said: "It was very rare for her not to let one of us know where she was.

"You hear a lot of stories about things like abduction or rape and you think the worse.

"I was driving around Clitheroe looking all over for her, I saw a girl in town that I thought was Gemma until I rushed up to have a closer look.

"It is distressing, things go through your mind, you end up wondering if its something you have done or if someone has got a hold over her.

"When she phoned on the Wednesday I can't tell you how much a relief it was.

"It was nerve-racking for me, but it must be much worse for Milly's parents they must be at the end of their tether.

"When she returned she didn't fully understand the trouble she had caused, but she did apologise.

"I just hope that Milly's parents have got someone to talk to, to help them through it."

Chief Inspector Judith Finney of Blackburn police said: "Our priority is always the missing person but we had one child who went missing 35 times in a four month period.

"The time spent looking for him equates to over 26 days of work for one individual officer."