POLICE looking for missing chef Claudia Lawrence were today searching her local pub.

Officers descended on the Nag's Head pub on Heworth Road, York, not far from Miss Lawrence's terrace home.

It is the second time the pub has been searched during the investigation.

Detectives said the new search was a detailed one that would take several hours to complete.

"It forms an integral part of the overall search strategy that has been, and will continue to be, a central feature of the investigation," said a spokesman.

He also denied rumours, which have been circulating in the city, that someone had been arrested in connection with the inquiry.

Miss Lawrence, who worked at York University's Goodricke College, has now been missing since March 18 and detectives are treating the case as one of suspected murder.

The charity Crimestoppers has offered a 10,000 reward.