A MOTHER has spoken of her relief that her teenage daughter and her friend have been found safe and well after running away from home three weeks ago.

Schoolgirls Rebecca Stringer, 15, of Yeadon, and Nicola Louise Ford, 14, of Guiseley had been missing since March 15.

Police had launched a massive search across West Yorkshire after fears had increased for the girls safety.

The girls were safely returned to their families after being found in the Leeds area by Rebecca's elder sister, Katie, 17, who handed them over to the police.

Karen Stringer, Rebecca's mother, said she was overjoyed that her daughter, a habitual runaway, has been found safe yet again.

Rebecca sparked an earlier police search in December last year but was found with friends in the Lincoln Green area of Leeds.

The teenager, who has not attended school for some time, soon ran away again and her family were concerned that Rebecca might be sucked into a world of drugs where they had no control over her behaviour.

Mrs Stringer said: "I am just relieved that she is safe. She had been in touch with us. She did ring us up. We knew that she was in Leeds somewhere but we did not know whereabouts.

"My daughter Katie found them and handed Rebecca in at a police station and then called the police to come for Nicola."

Mrs Stringer, of Haw Avenue, spoke of her desperation at her daughter's repeated runaway attempts and said she feels powerless to stop her going missing again.

She said: "You worry whatever happens but it has been happening for a long time now. This is the trouble you never know what she's up to or who she is with.

"She left here the last time because we grounded her because she had stayed out all night. She wanted to do what she wanted to do. You can't do anything right."

Mrs Stringer, who also has a son, Adam, 13, said she does not know what sparks Rebecca's repeated attempts to leave home.

She said: "I haven't got the faintest idea why she runs away. She got into trouble last time and we thought that that would stop her."

Nicola's parents were unavailable for comment.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.