Poetry or song words thought to have been written by missing teenager Shafilea Ahmed - who detectives fear has been murdered - might produce vital clues as to her whereabouts.

A police officer with expert knowledge of Asian culture spent the weekend examining papers found at her home for clues.

Bradford-born Shafilea, 17, who still has relatives in the city, has not been seen since September 11 after she returned to Britain from Pakistan where she rejected a suitor chosen for her to marry.

She was severely injured while in Pakistan when she mysteriously swallowed bleach or drain cleaner and spent ten weeks in hospital.

A team of detectives working on the investigation, code-named Operation Worcester, has already visited Bradford several times and spoken to up to a dozen members of Shafilea's extended family who live in the Girlington area.

Detectives now hope any clues from the papers found at her Warrington home will give the search for her a fresh impetus.

Det Chief Insp Geraint Jones, who is leading the hunt, said: "We have been trying to establish whether they were written by her or a school friend.

''They contain general teenage stuff, but if they turn out to be hers it could be of interest.

"We will carry on searching until we have searched everywhere.

''We have had great support from the public and there have been lots of calls. So far, our search has been focused on specific locations within the Warrington area.

Det Ch Insp Jones added: ''Hopefully these papers can give us a fresh angle from which to launch another appeal in the search for Shafilea."

He also urged the Asian community in Bradford to come forward with information about Shafilea.

Det Ch Insp Jones confirmed that he feared Shafilea had been killed.

"Sadly we are of the opinion that this young naive girl is now dead," he said.

"Without a body we can't say this is murder but the investigation is at that level."

Anyone with information about Shafilea should contact Warrington CID on (01244) 613836.