THE father and friends of missing Claudia Lawrence want to up a reward to £50,000 to tempt vital witnesses.

Peter Lawrence and family friend Martin Dales have revealed they are in talks with business contacts in an attempt to boost the money on offer.

A £10,000 reward was posted by Crimestoppers last April, but Mr Lawrence and Mr Dales said they felt it was time to raise the bar.

Mr Lawrence said: “Amazingly, in my view, the original reward of £10,000, which is far more than Crimestoppers normally offer in a case like this, has not had any effect.

“We all know someone out there has some information; the police keep saying that and I keep saying that, so perhaps increasing the reward will draw somebody out.”

Mr Dales, speaking about the plans to businesses at York Racecourse yesterday, said he felt the reward should be increased at least five-fold.

Mr Dales said: “We feel it should be at least £50,000 as it’s obvious £10,000 is not going to do anything. No-one is knocking what Crimestoppers has offered, but we’re looking to other sources to top it up.

“This has gone on long enough and it’s time somebody spoke.

“To be honest, I’m surprised that at £10,000 nobody has been interested in it but the feeling is that there is a need to push it to a much higher level as we’re not getting anywhere.”

Both Mr Lawrence and Mr Dales said they hoped Crimestoppers would manage the increased reward fund and would ensure it was paid out if significant information was forthcoming.

Claudia, of Heworth Road, was 35 when she failed to turn up for work at the University of York in March last year, and no trace of her has been found despite a major police investigation and a high-profile publicity campaign by her father.

Anyone with information about her disappearance should phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060247 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.