A body found near a North Yorkshire beauty spot has been identified as a 23-year-old woman from Leeds.

Gemma Simpson disappeared in May 2000 after telling a friend she was catching a bus from the Harehills area of Leeds to the city centre, but vanished.

Last month, 44-year-old Martin Bell was arrested and charged with Miss Simpson's murder.

Police searched an area around Brimham Rocks, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and announced that they had found a body last week.

Det Chief Insp Adrian Taylor, said: "Officers investigating the murder of Gemma Simpson can now confirm that human remains located in the vicinity of Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire are those of Gemma.

"Gemma's family have been informed."

Bell, of St Leonard's Crescent, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, appeared in court last month and was remanded in custody.