THE bad weather has hampered the search for the body of missing grandmother Pamela Jackson.

Police have been running parallel murder and missing person enquiries and a man ihas been charged with murdering the 55-year-old from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, but so far her body has not been found.

The recent snow has affected the ability of police to search areas, particularly in West Yorkshire, where conditions have been worse than in the North-East.

Detective Inspector Aelf Sampson, of Durham Police, said: "A number of actions are being carried out in relation to the search for Pamela Jackson and a team of officers are still involved full-time on the case.

“Searches have been carried out in a number of locations both here and in the West Yorkshire area, but these have been affected by the recent weather.

“For example, a number of minor roads in West Yorkshire have been impassable for several days, which has obviously restricted the work of the search teams.

"When the conditions improve they will hope to resume at the first opportunity and if there are any developments then Pamela's family will of course be the first to hear."

Ms Jackson, who lived with the youngest of her three sons at a house in The Crescent, Chester-le-Street, has not been seen since the early part of the month .

Neither her mobile phone nor her Facebook have recorded any activity in that time.

Police arrested and charged 50-year-old Adrian Muir, of Calder Terrace, Halifax, West Yorks, believed to be her partner, with murder.

He is currently remanded in custody after making initial appearances at Newcastle Crown Court. Ms Jackson also uses the names Cris and Crissie and the surname Bullerio.

She was reported missing from her home by her youngest son, Joe, on Thursday, March 7 but had not been seen since the previous Saturday, March 2.

Anyone with information about the search and the inquiry should call Durham Police on 101 and ask for the major crime team. They can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800-555-111.