THE father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence is to mark the third anniversary of her disappearance with a thousand runners later this month.

The solictor will be speaking at the annual Miles for Missing People event in London’s Regent’s Park on March 17.

The aim of the 10K run is to enable families and friends to remember their missing loved ones and to raise funds for the charity' Missing People and its 24-hour lifeline.

Claudia, who was born in Darlington and brought up in Malton, was 35 when she disappeared from her home in Heworth, York, in 2009.

She worked as a chef at York University and, despite a huge police operation, no trace of her has ever been found.

Mr Lawrence, who lives near Malton, said: "It is very encouraging to see this event uniting so many people in the cause, bringing together hundreds of families and friends of the missing.

"As the search for Claudia continues, the tremendous support generated by 'Miles for Missing People' is invaluable in helping people to cope with the consequences of someone in their life going missing, maximising the chances of finding them."