Forest search over missing woman

Diane Chenery-Wickens has not been seen since 24 January

Police investigating the disappearance of an award-winning make-up artist have said they are searching a forest after receiving "specific information".

Officers trying to find Diane Chenery-Wickens, 48, have started combing an area of Ashdown Forest in Sussex near the woman's home.

She was said to have travelled by train to London on 24 January, the day her husband reported her missing.

Her husband has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of murder.

Last contact

Det Ch Insp Steve Johns said the search at the forest was based on specific information, but "how relevant that information is is yet to be established".

Dog handlers have previously searched areas of Ashdown Forest.

Mr Johns said the last friend to contact Mrs Chenery-Wickens was a female friend who spoke with her on the phone between 1700 GMT and 1800 GMT on 22 January.

The make-up artist was said to have travelled with her husband on 24 January by train from East Grinstead, West Sussex, to London to attend a business meeting at the BBC.

Police believe she did not attend that meeting. Her husband later reported her missing.

Police searched the forest after receiving "specific information"

On Monday, Sussex Police said officers had been unable to see Mrs Chenery-Wickens, from Duddleswell, on any of the CCTV footage they had viewed.

David Chenery-Wickens, 51, from Duddleswell, was released on bail on Monday by detectives investigating the disappearance.

He was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murder and questioned for three days.

During a search of the couple's home and grounds a tanker was brought in to pump out a waste tank in the garden and a car was removed on a trailer.

Bafta-nominated Mrs Chenery-Wickens has worked for more than 20 years on some of television's best-known shows, including the League of Gentleman, Casualty, Pride and Prejudice and Dead Ringers.