A GIRL of 10 who sparked a large-scale police search when she went missing in Maidstone has been found safe and well.

Rosalyn Barrett, of London Road, Aylesford, is understood to have turned up at the post office in Bull Lane, Eccles, near Maidstone, at 11.30am today, almost 24 hours after she ran away from her mother and older sisters during a shopping trip.

It is not yet known where she spent last night or how she came to be in Eccles. The youngster was collected by police and has been reunited with her family.

A major search operation was mounted by Maidstone and Malling Police, with teams of officers scouring the town centre within hours of her disappearance.

About 20 officers had worked through the night and more were drafted in from other parts of the county today to bring the total number working on the case to about 40.

They had been examining CCTV footage and showing photographs of Rosalyn to shopkeepers in the hope that someone may have seen her.

Rosalyn had not been seen since she ran away from her mothers and sisters, aged 11 and 18, following a row outside the TJ Hughes store at 1.30pm yesterday. They searched for her for two hours before calling police.