FEARS are growing for a 14-year-old girl who was last seen with two Kosovan refugees.

Tania Turnbull was seen on Sunday talking to the two asylum seekers outside a hostel.

She was spotted by a resident, who knows her, outside the house where the men were staying in the Scotswood area of Newcastle, at about 3.30pm on Sunday.

The teenager, who turned 14 on July 4, was later seen in the street at about 6pm.

Her stepmother, Rosie Ryan, 38, of Blaydon, Gateshead, who has looked after Tania and her brother, Lee, 12, since their mother died, said: "We haven't seen or heard from Tania since she was last seen on Sunday."

Detective Inspector Max Black, of the West End command area, said: "The longer Tania is missing without a word to her family, we have to be concerned for her safety."

Tania is a pupil at Hookergate school, Rowlands Gill, Gateshead.

She lives with her stepmother at Blaydon, but is also known to have friends in Newcastle's West End.

Police have interviewed two men in connection with the inquiry. It is believed the men have now left the area and police are making further inquiries to trace the girl.