THE husband of a woman missing for almost a week has praised the police effort to find her as officers began scaling down the search.

Fred Ashbolt's wife, Beatrice, has not been seen since she left the family home in Waverley Road, Knuzden, Blackburn, at 2.30pm on Friday to visit a friend.

Mrs Ashbolt, 58, has been suffering from depression for about a year and was considering having further treatment.

Mr Ashbolt said: "The police have really done well. They have really gone to town looking for her, unfortunately with no results yet."

Inspector Steve Sansbury of Blackburn Police said today they had exhausted all possibilities.

He said: "Unless we get any more information from members of the public, or sightings, we have searched all the probable locations we can. "To start searching the whole of the Blackburn and Darwen area would be a physical impossibility."

He urged anyone who had seen Mrs Ashbolt, even if it was a few days ago, to get in touch.

He added: "We would ask people that if they have outhouses, sheds or garages to make a check in case she has gone walking, got confused and in the inclement weather gone into one of these places."

"The public's eyes on the ground are far more effective than we can be."

The search, which involved the Lancashire police helicopter and Rossendale Search and Rescue team, focused on places where Mrs Ashbolt went with her husband.

She is a keen walker and Inspector Sansbury said they have checked local beauty spots. An underwater team has also searched the delph off Stanhill Road and the lodge at Knuzden Brook.

Mrs Ashbolt is slim with a pale complexion, blue eyes and short, light brown, permed hair, which is grey at the sides. She wears glasses and was wearing beige leggings, beige flat shoes, a turquoise and blue three quarter length mac-style jacket and was carrying a white shoulder bag when she left home.

Anyone with information should contact Blackburn Police on 01254 51212 or any police officer.

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