THE mother of one of the runaway teenage Hampshire sweethearts has herself vanished, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Youngsters Chantelle Fisher, 13, and Luke Parker, 15, pictured, sparked a huge search when they went missing three weeks ago and have still not been found.

Now police have confirmed that Luke's mother has not been seen at her home in the New Forest and is no longer in the Hampshire area.

It is also understood officers have been unable to contact her but last night Hampshire police could not comment of whether she had any connection with the youngsters' disappearance.

The new twist comes on the day Chantelle's parents broke their three-week silence and made a public appeal for their daughter to come home.

Sheila and Steve Fisher have been desperate to hear from Chantelle, who has been missing from the family home in Milford on Sea for the past three weeks.

Today Chantelle's mother Sheila, 40, made an emotional appeal for her daughter to get in touch, saying: "Please, please come home. Your family and all your mates are missing you."

Mrs Fisher, also mum to Wade, 12, told how Chantelle had bravely undergone 42 stitches without anaesthetic after crashing through a glass door while on a family holiday in Italy four years ago.

In a direct appeal to Chantelle and recalling the incident, Mrs Fisher said: "Your brother Wade has broken his leg scrambling on his motorbike and you know how he'll be feeling. He needs his sister."

Stressing the bond between mother and daughter, she added: "I have always told you, Chantelle, that the umbilical cord will never be broken."

Mrs Fisher and husband Steve, 38, who runs a marquee hire company, were due to address a press conference at Lyndhurst police station this morning to publicly appeal for their daughter to get in touch.

They were also expected to urge anyone who is hiding her to co-operate with police efforts to return her to her family in Hampshire.

The couple, of Shorefield Way, Milford on Sea, had not spoken publicly about their daughter's disappearance until today.

Chantelle and Luke were last seen in Milford on Sea on Monday August 2. The pair are known to have visited Slough, where Luke has family and friends. However, repeated attempts by Thames Valley police to locate the teenage sweethearts have failed to find them.

Today Insp John Heath, of Lymington police, who is leading the inquiry, said: "Chantelle is 13 -years-old and it is believed she is with her 15-year-old boyfriend Luke Parker.

"Both have been seen in the Slough area, where Luke has a network of friends and relatives.

"We believe that both young people are being assisted by friends, in themistaken belief that they are helping them.

"Chantelle has a family that is desperate to know where she is and that she is safe and well.

"We would ask anyone who knows where either Chantelle or Luke are to contact Hampshire police."

Chantelle, a pupil at Priestlands School, Lymington, loves music and is a huge fan of rap star Eminen, also enjoying horse-riding and swimming. She is understood to have started bunking off school after becoming involved with Luke earlier this year.

It is thought Chantelle wrongly believes her friends no longer like her because of her relationship with Luke - but in fact they are missing her dearly.

Mr and Mrs Fisher said the family's two dogs - a black Labrador called Maddie and a springer spaniel named Jessie - were also pining.

They said the couple's thanks went to friends, family members and villagers who had supported them through the past few weeks.

Any information about Chantelle and Luke's whereabouts should be reported to Hampshire police on 0845 045 4545.