A MISSING teenager turned up early yesterday, ten days after she was last seen at her North-East home.

Police said they were relieved that 18-year-old Irina Sokolova was safe and were waiting to question her.

She telephoned her lodgings in Shildon, County Durham, from Darlington just after 7am yesterday and was collected from the town centre.

Police had been worried because she only had a little money and a few possessions with her when she vanished on March 31 from the Soho Street area of Shildon.

Inspector Warren Hawes, of Bishop Auckland police, said: "We had been really concerned about her safety and had been working around the clock to find her.

"We are very pleased to know she is fit and well and will be interviewing her to find out exactly where she has been."

Over the Easter break, officers had appealed to readers of The Northern Echo to help them find Irina. Inspector Hawes said: "We had a number of calls in response to the appeal.

"We would like to thank the public for their help."

Irina arrived in Shildon last autumn and studies one day a week at Bishop Auckland College.

She has no relatives in the region and speaks very little English.