The families of missing schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman came together in an emotional prayer service yesterday - exactly one week after the girls disappeared.

Kevin and Nicola Wells sat close to Leslie and Sharon Chapman as their parish vicar described the ''living nightmare" the families were enduring.

The strain was plain to see on their faces, and on those of Jessica's elder sisters Rebecca, 16, and Alison, 14, as they held each other during the Communion service at their church in Soham, Cambridgeshire.

The Reverend Tim Alban Jones told the congregation: "God is with Holly and Jessica wherever they are, God is with their families at this awful time."

Outside the church, the police search for the two girls continued, with officers widening the radius of the physical hunt to a three-mile distance from the town.

Extra officers have been drafted in, with more than 500 calls received since Saturday's reconstruction.

More than 7,500 people have contacted police since the investigation began.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb insisted police still believed the girls were alive.

"There's disappointment that we haven't found them and returned them to their parents already. We can only guess at the pain they're going through," he said.

Mr Hebb said police were checking all reports of suspicious activity in the area, and were working to trace the 266 people identified as high-risk offenders in Cambridgeshire.

Other lines of inquiry included the possibility the girls knew their abductor, because there were no reports of struggles or screams.

Evidence from Holly's computer has been scrutinised, but there is no sign the girls were e-mailing or contacting anyone via chatrooms last Sunday, although earlier contacts have not been ruled out.

* The two men arrested after failing to co-operate with the investigation were released without charge yesterday.