The grandparents of a missing teenage girl have put up their life savings as a reward for information about her whereabouts.

Peter and Wendy Clackett announced the reward, which they said ran into "thousands of pounds", on Tuesday for information leading to the discovery of their 17-year-old granddaughter Natasha Coombs, who disappeared on July 27.

Natasha, who is from Harwich, had travelled to Ipswich to meet friends for a meal in Cardinal Park. She rang her parents around 10:40pm to say that she was on her way home, but failed to return.

CCTV images released by Essex Police on Tuesday showed Natasha standing at Ipswich Railway Station just before she caught the 10:42pm train towards Manningtree. There have been no confirmed sightings of her since.

Officers said that they believed that Natasha might have been upset over a recent relationship break-up, but said that there was no indication that she was planning to disappear as she had no additional clothing with her. She also wears disposable contact lenses and had no spares with her.

Natasha is described as white, 5ft 3ins and of slim build. She has brown with highlights and at the time of her disappearance was wearing a purple sequinned top, a multi-coloured ra-ra skirt and a white jacket. She was also carrying a black furry handbag.

Essex Police have also appealed for three men in suits, as well as a smartly-dressed man with a briefcase, who are all believed to have got off the same train in Ipswich as Natasha, to come forward as they may have vital information.

Police have also released images of some of the items Natasha had in her possession that night.

She was carrying a black Fiorelli dodo handbag and a top-of-the-range, bright pink Samsung phone and MP3 player.

It is known from the earlier released CCTV footage that she was still carrying the bag when she boarded the Manningtree-bound train. Her phone was also active that evening but has not been used since then.

Police said that Natasha would have been "very noticeable" in her bright pink skirt, white jacket and black bag, especially if people recalled her using the bright pink phone.

Police want to hear from anyone who finds either of the items discarded and said that if they are found they should be left at the scene and police notified immediately.

The CCTV images and photographs of the bag and phone can be found at: www.essex.police.uk.

(KMcA)