THE father of Claudia Lawrence has spoken of his family’s anguish as they anxiously waited to hear that a body found in a river was not that of the missing chef.

Peter Lawrence said the time the family had to wait on Friday afternoon, before police told them the body in the River Ouse at York was a 68- year-old woman, “was almost unbearable”.

He said: “From the initial call there was a period of three or four hours of time which was almost unbearable until we were told that the body found in the River Ouse was not Claudia.

“Of course, our thoughts go out to her family. It has taken its toll obviously on all of the family.”

Mr Lawrence said the hunt for his daughter, originally from Malton, North Yorkshire, still goes on.

He said: “She’s out there somewhere and the message still goes out – somebody must know something and we would like them to say so.”

North Yorkshire Police officers were called to the River Ouse, at Bishopthorpe Bridge, at 10.40am on Friday, after a body was seen in the water.

It was later identified as Pauline Armitage, from Doncaster, who was reported missing earlier this month.

Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

Miss Lawrence, 35, was last seen on March 18 after she finished work at the University of York’s Goodricke College.

She has not been in contact with anybody since around 8.30pm that evening.

Last week, detectives said they were investigating new leads including the sighting of a couple involved in a roadside argument in the early hours of March 19.

A driver saw a man and a woman arguing near a car with its passenger door open in University Road at about 6.10am.

Miss Lawrence was due to start work at 6am on March 19 but never arrived.

On March 10 or 13, a female motorist in slow-moving traffic outside Miss Lawrence’s home in Heworth Road saw two men outside the chef ’s front door. One appeared to be trying the door.

Police have said they fear Miss Lawrence may have come to harm after meeting someone she knew.