TWO middle-aged brothers were last night being held by police on suspicion of murdering Jenny Nicholl.

David and Robert Hodgson were taken for questioning after early-morning raids on their homes in Olav Road, Richmond.

Jenny, who was 19 when she disappeared, was last seen by her parents, Ann and Brian Nicholl, at the family home in the town's Bolton Avenue, in June.

Detectives launched a murder investigation in November. The body has never been found.

Unemployed gardener David Hodgson, who lives with his wife, Alison, has previously admitted having an affair with the teenager.

Builder Robert Hodgson lives in the same street with the brothers' mother, Joan.

Neighbours said police swooped at 6am yesterday.

One said: "I thought it was my son banging to get in, but it was the police next door."

Officers stood on guard outside the homes all day while forensic experts worked inside.

Witnesses said David Hodgson's two dogs were taken away by the dog warden.

A team of officers wearing overalls removed bags full of items from the homes. Robert Hodgson's garden was also searched.

In November, David Hodgson told a Sunday newspaper that he had an affair with Jenny.

He said he first met her when she was 15, but the affair started when she was 19, and ended more than a year ago.

In the interview, he said the teenager told him before she disappeared that she was going to go away. He claimed he gave her a large amount of cash.

David Hodgson told The Northern Echo that he and Robert had received death threats since the teenager's disappearance.

He said he was convinced that Jenny was still alive.

"Who would hurt her?" he said: "She got on with everybody."

It is understood both men have previously been questioned by police about the disappearance.

A flat once lived in by Robert Hodgson, in Culloden View, Richmond, was searched in October.

Jenny left home on June 30, saying she planned not to return that night.

She failed to turn up for work at the Co-op, in Richmond, two days later, and was reported missing on Monday, July 4.

The teenager's car - a white Rover 214i - was found at the Holly Hill Inn, on the outskirts of Richmond, on the same day.

Police believe the teenager's killer sent texts to her family and friends in the weeks after her disappearance.

Friends received messages sent from the Carlisle area of Cumbria on July 9.

Five days later, her father received a text sent from the Jedburgh area, in the Scottish Borders.

More than £200 in Jenny's account has not been touched since she went missing.

Jenny also paid for 25 sessions at Tan Express tanning salon, in the town's Finkle Street, days before her disappearance, but used only two.

Police say the teenager would regularly go camping in the countryside around Richmond. Searches of woods, moors and disused lead mines have taken place.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police confirmed that two men were arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday morning.

He said the two men were taken into custody and two properties in Richmond were searched