Hunt for 15-year-old Megan Stammers who fled to France with her maths teacher

Police think missing schoolgirl has gone on the run with her maths teacher Jeremy Forrest

French authorities are on the hunt for a British schoolgirl who is believed to have fled there with her maths teacher.

Megan Stammers, 15, from Eastbourne is thought to have left for France with 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest, a married maths teacher from her school, Bishop Bell C of E.

She was reported missing on Friday after failing to turn up for school.

Nine hours later she is believed to have boarded a ferry to Calais with Forrest.

Chief Inspector Jason Tingley, of Sussex Police, said: 'We are investigating several lines of inquiry and are grateful for the support and co-operation from Megan's family and friends.

'We are at a critical stage of the investigation.'

The family of the teenager made an emotional appeal on Saturday, saying: 'We just want Megan to make contact with us. We are worried and miss her terribly - please get in touch Megan.'

Police are investigating the background to the case at present. Cryptic blog posts written by Forrest in May give a sense of a moral dilemma.

In one post the teacher wrote: 'I came to a few different conclusions, mainly that actually we get a lot of things wrong, but at the end of the day I was satisfied that if you can look yourself in the mirror and know that, under all the front, that you are a good person, that should have faith in your own judgement.'

Megan is around 5ft6, slim, with long hair and was last seen wearing a white vest top.

East Sussex County Council said it was urgently investigating the background of the case.

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