Police seeking a missing 13-year-old English schoolgirl believe she may be in Ireland with an older man.
Maxine Bindi was last seen leaving her home in Fleetwood, Lancashire on Sunday, October 2 nd. It is understood she was planning to board a tram to Blackpool.
Police believe she may be in the company of Alan Keegan, a 37-year-old man with contacts in Galway and Dublin.
Detectives say they have "grave concerns" for her safety and have appealed for public help in tracing the pair.
Maxine is described as an Afro-Caribbean with shoulder-length black hair, which she usually wears in a pony-tail.
She has brown eyes and is five feet, two inches tall. She has a burn scar on one of her hands.
She was last seen wearing a white hooded top with a monkey on the front, pale blue jeans with pink hearts on the back pockets. She was also wearing black Reebok trainers.
Alan Keegan is thought to be a family friend. He is five feet, ten inches tall, has blue eyes and weighs about 18 stone. He has black collar length hair, which is receding and going grey.
Anyone with any information should contact police at Lancaster on 01524-63333 or any Garda Station.