A BODY found in the River Ouse in York is not that of missing university chef Claudia Lawrence, police said today.

North Yorkshire Police said officers were called to the River Ouse at Bishopthorpe Bridge in Fulford at 10.48am.

Miss Lawrence was last seen on March 18 after she finished work at the University of York's Goodricke College and has not been in contact with anybody since around 8.30pm that day.

She failed to arrive at work at 6am the next morning and later did not meet a friend as arranged.

Police believed she may have come to harm after meeting up with someone she knew.

A force spokesman said this afternoon that the identity of the body was not known and a post-mortem examination was due to take place later today.

He said: "North Yorkshire Police can now confirm the body found at the River Ouse this morning is not that of missing person Claudia Lawrence."

Yesterday, detectives said they were investigating a significant new line of inquiry after a motorist told police he saw a couple involved in a roadside argument in the early hours of March 19.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway told reporters in York that the driver saw a man and a woman arguing near a car with its passenger door open on University Road at around 6.10am that morning.

Mr Galloway also said that, on March 10 or 13, a woman motorist passing by Miss Lawrence's home on Heworth Road in slow moving traffic saw two men outside the chef's front door.

One of the men appeared to be trying the door, either with a key or by turning the handle.

The North Yorkshire police investigation into Miss Lawrence's disappearance is now the biggest the force has conducted since the search for multiple killer Mark Hobson five years ago.

This afternoon, two police officers stood on the bank of the River Ouse close to where the body was found. A boat could be seen on the water near a bridge.

The area, close to the Archbishop of York's residence, Bishopthorpe Palace, is popular with dog walkers and joggers.

Police later confirmed the body found in the river is also not that of missing York woman Lisette Dugmore, 36, who has not been seen since July last year.