POLICE investigating the suspected murder of Claudia Lawrence have been urged by the missing chef’s family to search suspicious locations in the York area.

Martin Dales, a friend and spokesman for Claudia’s father, Peter Lawrence, said members of the public had informed him of four locations that could be of interest to detectives searching for the 36-year-old.

Speaking at a press conference to mark 13 months since Claudia vanished, Mr Dales said these locations had been mentioned to him following the high-profile coverage of the case on the first year anniversary of Claudia’s disappearance.

He said: “I have received quite a lot of information which I have passed on to the police. Quite a lot of it was from members of the public who had passed it to the police months ago, but didn’t get the feeling that anything was happening with it.

“The locations are not far outside the city’s boundaries. I have been to some of them and at one particular location there has been a high-intensity bonfire, with broken glass and clothing around.

“My immediate thinking was that if you were trying to get rid of a mobile phone or something like that, then you would need a pretty high-intensity fire to destroy it.

“It is the sort of place you would choose if you were involved in doing something that you would perhaps not want to be discovered.”

Mr Dales said he wrote to the police on April 7 to ask if these locations had been investigated, but had yet to receive a response.

He said: “I think there is an accountability issue that the police need to be aware of. There needs to be a response so the public knows the information they are giving is being treated seriously.”

Mr Dales also revealed that a message board facility on the website findclaudia.co.uk had been withdrawn after several internet users posted offensive comments.

He said: “Regrettably we have had to take it down because it was being hijacked by what I would describe as evil people who seemed to be determined to pull down some of Claudia’s friends and have a go at her family.

“In the end it got to the point where it was grossly unfair to have that particular situation going on and that is a shame because some people left messages that were a huge support to the family.

“I find it very difficult to believe that people can really stoop that low to upset people who care and love Claudia.”

Mr Lawrence, who was unable to attend yesterday’s press briefing due to work commitments, has given nearly 2,000 media interviews since his daughter disappeared on March 18 last year.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway, who is leading the investigation, said Claudia’s family continued to be fully updated on developments in the inquiry.

He said: “All information provided to the investigation team is considered within the context of other evidence and intelligence that is available.

“A decision is then made as to the potential usefulness of that information and, if appropriate, positive action is taken. Such is the volume of information that has been provided by people seeking to support the search for Claudia that such a prioritisation process is essential.”

He said the new information received last month from one of Claudia’s colleagues, who said the chef had been out with a boyfriend until about 5am two days before she vanished, was still an active line of inquiry.

If you have information to help the inquiry, phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060247 or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.