A CHILD'S cries sparked a major search of moorland around Shawforth last night by members of Rossendale Search and Rescue Team.

A farmer and his wife from Top of Shore Farm, off Old Lane, heard a child crying for his mother and grandmother and called the police.

Rescue team member Terry Morgan said: "The police also heard the cries and we arrived on scene at 8.45pm with three dogs and 28 members.

"We searched until 11.15pm but we found nothing. The wind could have carried the cries so we searched further back from the farm and a wood."

Lancashire police helicopter crew tried to use a thermal imaging camera but were thwarted by low cloud.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.