POLICE investigating the murder of missing Jobcentre worker Joanne Nelson have found a body hidden in woodland.

A Humberside Police spokesman said the body was found in woods a mile north of the village of Brandsby, between Thirsk and Malton, in North Yorkshire.

Miss Nelson, 22, was reported missing from her home in Hull on Valentine's Day and a search has been under way since then.

Miss Nelson's boyfriend, Paul Dyson, has appeared in court charged with her murder.

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "Humberside Police officers have, this afternoon, found what is believed to be a concealed body in woodland, one-and-a-half kilometres north of Brandsby.

"The family of Joanne Nelson has been informed of the find and are being kept fully updated with all developments.

"Police officers will now be conducting a slow and detailed search of the area, and forensic officers will be examining the area also."

The spokeswoman said the discovery was made at 4pm by Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins, who is leading the murder inquiry, and Detective Constable Phil Gadd.

She said the B1363 road close to the scene had been closed to traffic.

The search for Miss Nelson's body has involved hundreds of police officers, specialist rescue teams, soldiers and other volunteers.

In the weeks after she disappeared, the operation involved large numbers of searchers scouring tracts of North and East Yorkshire after detectives said they had intelligence about the possible characteristics of the location they were looking for.

Heavy snow hampered initial efforts to find Miss Nelson's body.