THE detective leading the search for missing Polish farmhand Danuta Domagalska admitted last night that the hopes of finding her alive are very slim.

Officers yesterday continued to scour farmland near the wood where a man’s body, confirmed last night as Mrs Domagalska’s brother, Piotr Lawniczak, was found hanging at New Moor Farm, Walworth Gate, near Darlington, on Wednesday.

A combine harvester was brought in to support the search for the 27-year-old farm worker, with a police officer sitting in the cab as crops in the field which surround the woods were cut.

Grass strimmers were also used in the thick woodland.

Search teams, divers from the Northumbria Police marine unit and mountain rescue volunteers are taking part in the search.

During the day, a bouquet of flowers was left outside the family’s home at the farm complex. Signed by Max and Emily, it said “with deepest sympathy”.

Detective Superintenddant Adrian Green said: “Our efforts will continue to find Danuta, but I have to be realistic and accept the chances of her still being alive are very slim. We are continuing to talk to her husband as we piece together her movements in the days leading up to her disappearance.”

Police have been searching for Mrs Domagalska and her 31-year-old brother since Sunday.

Along with Mrs Domagalska’s husband, Marcin, they lived in a cottage next to New Moor Farm, where Mrs Domagalska worked and her brother and husband had been previously employed.

Mrs Domagalska, whose five-year-old son Kuba is in Poland being looked after by relatives, was last seen on Saturday, August 6.

She has worked at the farm for three years. Her employers describe her as a “hard-working, cheerful and popular” member of staff. The search began after farm owners John and Susan Archer began expressing concerns about Mrs Domagalska’s whereabouts.

When police went to speak to her brother, he too had gone missing.

On Wednesday afternoon, a search team found a man’s body hanging from a tree in the wood opposite the cottage. Det Supt Adrian Green said last night: “Police can confirm that the body of a man found hanging in a wooded area close to New Moor Farm, on Wednesday afternoon has now been positively identified as that of Piotr Lawniczak, aged 31.”

A post-mortem examination is expected to take place tomorrow. The coroner has been informed and an inquest will open in due course.

The tea room and ice cream parlour at the farm remain closed while the police continue their investigations.

Anyone with information about the inquiry can call 0345-60-60-365 or 0800-555-111.