THE mother of a 14-year-old girl who vanished after a family row spoke of her relief at finding her daughter.

Gail Fotherby had an emotional reunion with Nicola -- more than 20 hours after her disappearance was logged with police.

But police spoke to the girl regarding the misuse of police time regarding a "prank" call she made saying she was in trouble. More than 50 officers and mountain rescue personnel were involved in the search.

The tearful pair hugged and spoke at length after Nicola was found outside the KFC fast food restaurant in Bury.

A police spokesman said: "Nicola had made a phone call to her mother suggesting she was in trouble in a field in Ainsworth. Inquiries suggest this was untrue and we are treating it as a prank call."

Nicola had been wandering the town's streets for three hours after being dropped off by her 15-year-old friend, Colin, the boy at whose house she had been staying overnight.

The girl, a pupil at Elton High School, told her mother where she was in a mobile phone call after realising "she couldn't stay out forever", said Mrs Fotherby, aged 41.

Nicola was astonished at the coverage of her disappearance in newspapers and on TV and radio. Her main concern, however, was being in trouble with the police.

Mrs Fotherby said: "She sounded very scared but has been extremely apologetic. I think she understands what she has put her family through and I doubt she will do the same in the future."

Officers and 26 members of the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team spent the night combing a three kilometre stretch of land between Ainsworth and Radcliffe, where her father lives.

Sniffer dogs were brought in and the police helicopter used infra-red sensing equipment to try to locate the girl. Officers also spoke to many of her friends.

Mrs Fotherby, of Broomfield Close, Ainsworth, said: "I'm so relieved and just cried when I heard Nicola was safe. She kept asking if she was in trouble but all I wanted to do was hug her When she arrived, we sat down and discussed the reasons behind it."

Mrs Fotherby's former partner, Steven Paylor, aged 47, drove to Bury to fetch Nicola shortly after the call to her mother.

It ended the search for Nicola which was launched at 10pm on Monday, five hours after her disappearance.

After leaving the house, the teenager called her mum on her mobile phone at 5pm and told her she was climbing over a fence in a muddy field.

The call then went dead and neither her family nor the police managed to contact her despite sightings of her in Bury town centre.

Mrs Fotherby said: "Nicola isn't really all that streetwise and only really knows Bury so we became very concerned when she left.

"I was thinking of all sorts of things and thought at one point she was stuck in a ditch somewhere. Many things go through your mind."

It was the first time Nicola had disappeared from home.

Garry Rhodes, leader of the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, which had received the call from the police said: "All of the team is very happy to hear Nicola has been found.

"A lot of effort was put in to search for her and, in hindsight, much of it was unnecessary, but the main thing is that she is safe."