THE mum of missing Claudia Lawrence has revealed her "sadness" as cops called off their search of gravel pits 12 years after her daughter vanished.

       The 35-year-old chef had disappeared in 2009 - with North Yorkshire Police last week revealing they would be sifting through the Sand Hutton Gravel Pits in hopes of finding answers in the cold case.

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       The mum of Claudia Lawrence is 'saddened' the search of the North Yorkshire beauty spot has stopped Credit: PA 3

       Police recovered a small number of items from Sand Hutton Gravel Pits but nothing deemed of significance Credit: SWNS

       But detectives today confirmed they had finished the search, unable to find anything of "significance".

       Speaking today, Claudia's mum Joan Lawrence said she had been unable to sleep during the search and had now been left devastated.

       Joan Lawrence, 78, said: “It’s been a terrible fortnight, I’ve hardly slept,” she told The Mirror.

       “I’ve been on edge and I’m saddened that there are still no answers but at least I still have hope.”

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       During the two-week search, a small number of items were recovered according to Detective Superintendent Wayne Fox, Head of the Major Investigation Team.

       But he said while the items are being assessed for forensic potential, there have been no major breakthroughs that would suggest any relevance to Claudia’s disappearance.

       The force concentrated on a tennis court-sized area where they cut down small trees and appeared to take top soil for testing.

       They began the fresh search six miles from where Claudia went missing 12 years ago due to several reports of information which all pointed to the area of Sand Hutton.

       Her disappearance on her way to work at York University in 2009 has become one of the UK's most notorious cold cases.

       Dogs, divers, forensic archaeologists and specialist search experts were called in to scour the beauty spot.

       Detective Superintendent Wayne Fox explained: "When we assessed these separate and independently-sourced pieces of information against the wealth of information already generated during the last 12 years, we found they correlated with other information pointing to the area of Sand Hutton.

       "We then consulted a number of national experts in various different disciplines and concluded that we could not discount the possibility that Sand Hutton Gravel Pits could have a major relevance in explaining what happened to Claudia.

       "Armed with fresh information to the enquiry, that seemed to corroborate known facts, we were duty bound to conduct thorough searches of the area. Not searching was not an option – not for Claudia, not for her family, and not for the wider public."

       But the investigator revealed the search had prompted members of the public to come forward with new information which "will be assessed and investigated in the coming days and weeks."

       Detective Fox ensured they remain "committed" to finding out what happened to the 35-year-old and made a heartfelt plea to anyone with information.

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       Police have completed their 12-day search of the Sand Hutton Gravel Pits Credit: SWNS