RUNAWAY Margaret O'Brien was last night re-united with her family.

The 14-year-old, who vanished with her cousin, 23-year-old gipsy James O'Brien, was described by police as safe and well.

Officers and her family went to meet her off a flight from Ireland.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "We can confirm 14-year-old Margaret O'Brien has been found safe and well and is now back in the care of her family."

A further statement is expected to be released later today.

Meanwhile, The Northern Echo can reveal that Mr O'Brien was recently given a police guard in hospital after he was stabbed and beaten by fellow travellers shortly before Christmas.

He was taken to the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, and given a police guard.

It happened just before Christmas outside a derelict former police house on Middlesbrough's St Hilda's estate.

Associates of Mr O'Brien said the Irishman had been planning to leave the Teesside area after receiving repeated warnings, culminating in the attack at the hands of several assailants.

A friend said: "He knew the attackers were after him. They had warned him. He tried to get out of town when they collared him."

Mr O'Brien made a complaint to the police but then withdrew it, so there was no follow-up investigation.

Cleveland Police were treating Mr O'Brien's disappearance with his 14-year-old cousin, Margaret, as child abduction.

The teenager vanished from her home in Thornaby, near Stockton, on Good Friday.

A couple matching their description asked a priest to carry out a marriage ceremony in Northern Ireland.

It is thought the pair, who are both from the travelling community on Teesside, had then headed south to the Republic of Ireland in their quest to get married.

Detective Superintendent Shane Sellars, who is leading the investigation, described Margaret as a "young, vulnerable girl".

Officers from Cleveland Police had travelled to Scotland taking statements from people who witnessed the couple boarding a ferry to Larne.

The Garda, in Ireland, also took part in the search, with ports and airports placed on alert.