Family fear for missing girl as celebrities and MPs join hunt

The family of a 14-year-old girl who has been missing for nearly three weeks told of their fears for her safety.

Serena Beakhurst, a former pupil at Battersea Technology School, has not been seen since she left her home in Tulse Hill at 9am on 15 December to attend a training course in Tooting.

Her friends have set up an online campaign to find her which is being supported by comedians Stephen Fry and Matt Lucas, England footballer Rio Ferdinand and south London MPs Tessa Jowell and Chuka Umunna.

Serena's cousin James Andrew said: "Serena, we love you, miss you and really want you to get in touch. We're not angry or upset with you, we just want you home."

The family want to contact a group of girls the teenager was seen with before she went missing. Friends of Serena, who lives with her mother, claim the investigation has stalled because officers listed her as a runaway.

But the Met, who today re-issued an appeal for Serena to contact them, said they had never used the term "runaway". A spokeswoman added: "We are doing all we can to trace her."

Serena is described as mixed race, 5ft 3in, of slim build and with shoulder-length hair. Anyone with information should call police on 020 8649 3423.