A body has tragically been found in the search for a young woman missing for 12 days.

Leah Daley, 24, was last seen at The Warren along the coast in Folkestone at 7pm on Sunday, May 5.

A huge effort was launched to locate her - including police appeals, a rapidly growing Facebook group called Leah’s Search and the circulating of the hashtag #findleahdaley.

It came to a tragic end today as police confirmed a body had been discovered in undergrowth at The Warren this afternoon.

The area was taped off and officers remained at the scene until the early evening.

A spokesman said: “A body has been found during a search for a missing woman from Folkestone.

“While formal identification has not yet taken place, the family of a 24-year-old woman who was reported missing from the town has been informed.”

During the extensive search efforts, Leah’s family released a statement on Tuesday describing her disappearance as “totally out of character”.

They added: “We thank everybody for their support and assistance over the last nine days, especially Leah's friends and the local community who have devoted time, effort and resources to find her.”

Leah, who lived in Folkestone, had last been seen at the bottom of a concrete path leading from the Martello Tower at The Warren - a local beauty spot with woodland walks, chalk grassland and sea views.

Police released two CCTV images showing Leah in Tontine Street earlier on the same day.

It is thought she also attended the harbour area of the town over the bank holiday weekend.

Today at 9pm, a vigil will take place at the Leas bandstand, where candles will be lit and prayers said.

Leah's family say they are keen for the whole community to attend, and thank the community for its support.