POLICE have been excavating a meadow in Worcestershire in the hunt for the body of murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police used a mechanical digger to create a shallow trench in a field at Ufnell Bridge, off the B4084 between Pershore and Drakes Broughton.

They were preparing to use ground-penetrating radar to examine the earth for evidence that it was disturbed 24 years ago. Police arrived yesterday morning and could contuine searching the land today.

Two forensic experts were advising officers at the scene. University of Gloucestershire academic Professor David Hawksworth is a fungi expert and environmental scientist, while Patricia Wiltshire, of the University of Aberdeen, is an expert in decomposition and microscopic evidence such as pollen and fungi.

Miss Lamplugh, aged 25, disappeared in July 1986 after leaving her west London offices to meet a mystery client known only as Mr Kipper.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Officers investigating the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh have carried out a search on Tuesday of a small area near Pershore.

“The Met remains committed to solving the Suzy Lamplugh case and we will continue to work towards this end. We will follow up any information in relation to this case.”

Two vans and a four-wheel-drive vehicle were parked on the edge of the site as officers used surveying equipment to examine the land.

The latest search comes after a potential witness said he saw a mound of earth there around the time Miss Lamplugh vanished.

It is about six miles from the disused military barracks at Norton searched by police in December 2000.

On the day of Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance, witnesses reported seeing her argue with a man outside a property in Shorrold Road, Fulham. Her white Ford Fiesta was later found a mile-and-a-half away. She was declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1994.

Officers have examined thousands of lines of inquiry and conducted DNA testing on 800 bodies.

Although the case ground to a halt in October 1987, the file remained open and the investigation was actively restarted in 2000.

The area being searched has been linked to prime suspect and convicted killer John Cannan, of Sutton Coldfield. It is claimed his prison name was “kipper”.

Cannan was released from a hostel days before Miss Lamplugh disappeared and a former girlfriend told police he suggested the body was at Norton barracks.

He has been questioned several times but in 2002 prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to charge him.