SAFE AND WELL

Chris Cooper described the joyful scenes that took place last night following the discovery of his daughter Sheila and her cousin, Anna-Marie Cooper.

Police were concerned for the safety of the 13-year-olds who had been missing for more than three days.

A large-scale search for the girls ended at 4.30pm yesterday, when they were found at a house in Parkstone, Poole, and returned to their homes at Thorney Hill, near Bransgore.

Mr Cooper, 43, said today: "We're just glad they're both okay. We all got together last night for a bit of a party. We were all very happy and the girls just kept laughing."

Mr Cooper said the teenagers had been staying with a woman. He added that they were due to be seen by police today and interviewed about their disappearance.

The girls, who are two days apart in age, are part of an extended family.

Sheila, of Whitelands, is a pupil at Arnewood School in Gore Road, New Milton. She and Anna-Marie, of Brick Lane, had last been seen at Bransgore at 11.20am last Thurday.

Their families launched a desperate search after they failed to return home.

Yesterday, before their discovery, Mr Cooper, told the Daily Echo: "We are all very worried and have been out looking for them. Neither girl has done anything like this before. We don't know what has happened. All we know is that they have gone."

Mr Cooper said family members had been combing the area. "We have been down to Poole, Boscombe, Christchurch, Ringwood - everywhere."

Sheila and Anna-Marie are thought to have had just £7 between them. When last seen they are believed to have been walking into Bransgore to catch a bus to Christchurch.

A Dorset police spokesman confirmed that the girls had been found at an address in Poole, but was unable to provide any further details.