Holly and Jessica - Prosecutors tell of massive inquiry

Prosecution lawyers today disclosed details of the vast scale of the inquiry into the disappearance and deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Nearly 180 police and support staff are working on the case, as well as forensic scientists at laboratories across England.

Police have followed 5,500 lines of inquiry, 1,500 of which are still active, and taken 1,800 statements.

Details of the size of the inquiry emerged as a woman accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the disappearance of Holly and Jessica, appeared in court for the third time.

Maxine Carr, 25, of Soham, Cambridgeshire, did not attend the hearing at Peterborough Crown Court in person, but appeared via a live video link from Holloway Prison in north London, where she is being held on remand.

The hearing was adjourned and she is next due to appear at Norwich Crown Court, before High Court Judge Mr Justice Moses, in early November.

Carr, a former teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica’s class at St Andrew’s Primary School, Soham, did not enter a plea to the charges she faces.

There was no application for bail.