THOUSANDS of York students are being urged to help in the hunt for missing Claudia Lawrence.

Posters printed by The Press are now being displayed by Students’ Union officers across the campus at the University of York, where Claudia works as a chef.

The posters state: “Missing. Claudia Lawrence has been missing since Wednesday, March 18. Have you seen her?” They then urge anyone with information to call North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247.

Thousands of students who have gone home for the Easter break are also being alerted to Claudia’s disappearance through the social networking site Facebook. Students Union President Tom Scott said that more than 3,000 students who had left for Easter could be reached through Facebook, and one of them might have seen something important last week while they were still in York.

He told of the shock felt by students at the disappearance of Claudia, 35, who works at the Roger Kirk Centre canteen at Goodricke College.

He said some students lived in accommodation along the route taken by Claudia to work at the university, in roads such as Melrosegate, and it was possible they had seen something significant on the morning she was due to go to work but failed to turn up. “They might just have been returning from somewhere at that time,” he said.

“Students’ thoughts are with Claudia and her family. It has been a surprise because so many people know her just in passing.

“So many people have said they knew her because they have gone to the Roger Kirk Centre canteen and she has been there with a smile and served them breakfast or dinner.

“To have someone you know disappear has affected a lot of people.

“The posters will go up all over campus –we will make sure of that.

“That will catch the people still here – postgraduates and people staying on during the Easter break.”

He said that unfortunately, a lot of students had gone home for the Easter break, but more than 3,000 students could be contacted through Facebook, with a link created to thepress.co.uk.

“Hopefully, the posters or Facebook will result in just one person coming forward who saw something.”

Students who are still at the university told The Press of their shock at the disappearance.

Richard Wooller, 21, said: “I was surprised. I didn’t think this sort of thing happened in York. York is graded as a safe city by an insurance firm.”

Chelsey Sprong, 22, said: “I was watching TV when I heard about it and was shocked.”