Missing Claudia's father back at 'time warp' home

Peter Lawrence spent half an hour in the terrace house in York during the visit on Thursday, when he found the property in Heworth Road has been left just as it was when his daughter went missing in March last year.

Some of Miss Lawrence's clothes were still in the washing machine and dirty dishes and plates remained in the kitchen sink.

Mr Lawrence, 64, a solicitor from Slingsby, near Malton, said: ""It was a strange, numbing experience. But it's still Claudia's house, even down to there being dirty plates in the sink and washing still in the machine. It is in a bit of a time warp."

Wednesday will mark the 17-month anniversary of the disappearance of Miss Lawrence, who was 35 at the time she went missing. The York University chef was last seen walking close to her home on the afternoon of March 18 last year.

Her father went to the house two days later after he was contacted by his daughter's best friend, Suzy Cooper, who had become concerned about Miss Lawrence's whereabouts.

Police initially sealed the house off while officers examined it for possible clues and, until last week, Mr Lawrence had been unable to cope with the trauma of re-visiting the property.

A 30-minute documentary outlining the ordeal that Miss Lawrence's friends and family have endured since she vanished was screened on Channel 4 on Friday.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed yesterday that 20 calls had been received to a dedicated phone line which was opened over the weekend. However, it is understood that the calls have not generated any major new lines of inquiry. Police announced last month that the inquiry was being scaled down