Claudia Lawrence's mum says she wants daughter's house to help others

Joan Lawrence, who will be 80 this summer, has revealed her plan ahead of the 14th anniversary of Claudia’s disappearance this weekend.

Claudia, a University of York chef, of Heworth, was last seen on March 18, 2009, when she was 35.

Her disappearance prompted the largest and most complex missing person inquiry in the history of North Yorkshire Police, which believes she was murdered, but no trace has ever been found of her.

Joan Lawrence inside her daughter Claudia's home

“I’ve always wanted something good to come out of this, and there’s no point in the house just standing empty forever,” said Joan.

The two-bedroomed terraced house in Heworth, in the suburbs of York, was a crime scene at the start of the long-running inquiry, but now Joan says it has been left “in limbo”.

READ MORE: 'Frozen in time' - Claudia Lawrence's mum opens up daughter's house

The mortgage has been written off by Santander as an act of goodwill and, since the death of her estranged husband, Peter, in February 2011, Joan has assumed responsibility for checking the property every fortnight.

She admits to being “torn” over its future. She’s reluctant to lose the connection to Claudia and possible clues to her disappearance, but her overriding feeling is that she wants the house to be put to charitable use.

Joan Lawrence at the front door of her daughter Claudia's home in York

“If I did let it go, I wouldn’t take a penny from it – I couldn’t do that. The connection to Claudia would go, and there are still people who believe the answer lies in that house, but I can’t leave it empty much longer – it needs to have a purpose.

“I’m going to explore the possibility of a charity using it – maybe for homeless people, or students from poor backgrounds, a Ukrainian refugee family, or victims of domestic violence. With a bit of care, it could be a home again.”

READ MORE: Timeline: The Claudia Lawrence disappearance

Shockingly, Joan has also revealed that letters still arrive at the house from the TV licensing authority, including threats of a £1,000 fine and court action.

Joan Lawrence inside daughter Claudia's York home

“You’d think they’d know by now, after all the publicity, wouldn’t you? It’s unbelievable. I’ve written to tell them what’s happened, and the police are supposed to be sorting it out, but the letters still come.

“I probably get two or three a year and one of them earlier this year was really nasty, saying they’d take it to court and it would threaten my credit rating. It’s horrible because I’m not someone who’s ever had any debts – I pay my way straight away. It’s horrible.”

TV licensing last night pledged to put a stop to the letters being sent to the house.

A customer relations spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that we have applied a marker to the address to stop TV Licensing letters from being sent in the future. This marker will remain in place until we are contacted by Mrs Lawrence.”