DETECTIVES hunting for the body of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh will begin a new search near Worcester today following a tip-off.

The 25-year-old disappeared in 1986 after leaving her offices in Fulham, west London, to meet a mystery client.

Her body has never been found but she was officially declared dead in 1994.

Police are to search the disused Norton Army Barracks near Worcester after a potential witness said he saw a mound of earth there around the time Ms Lamplugh vanished.

Homicide officers from Scotland Yard will use ground-penetrating radar to comb the site, which has been previously searched in connection with the inquiry.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers investigating the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh will be carrying out a search on Tuesday of a small area in Worcestershire.

"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."

John Cannan, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was once named as the prime suspect in the murder investigation.

He was questioned by police but the Crown Prosecution Service announced there was insufficient evidence to charge him in 2002.

Ms Lamplugh's mother, Diana Lamplugh, founded a charity in her daughter's name and spent years raising public awareness on personal safety issues alongside her husband, Paul.

She was awarded an OBE in 1992 for her work with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which became a leading authority in the field.

Following her disappearance, Ms Lamplugh's white Ford Fiesta was discovered in Stevenage Road, Fulham, with the doors unlocked, the handbrake off and the ignition keys missing.

Her purse, still containing £15, was in the pocket of the driver's door.

After she vanished, officers examined thousands of lines of inquiry and conducted DNA testing on 800 unidentified bodies.

Although the case was first closed in October 1987, the file remained open and the investigation was officially reopened in 2000.

In December that year, officers conducted a fingertip search at the former Army barracks in Norton but were not thought to have found anything significant.

Detectives have apologised for "significant opportunities" which were missed during the original inquiry, saying that if they had been grasped there might have been a prosecution years ago.