An elderly woman who went missing from her home in Thanet has been found safe and well.

Police appealed for helping in tracing 71-year-old Elizabeth Ferguson, who left her partner in St Nicholas at Wade near Birchington to go and buy a newspaper around 8.30am Wednesday.

The nearby homes of her friends and some of Elizabeth's favourite places were checked in a major search yesterday. The coastguard was also called in to assist.

A spokesperson for Kent Police said Elizabeth "had turned up this morning (Thursday) safe and well", although the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are not yet known.