A worried father found his missing 15-year-old daughter after travelling to Ireland to join a police search.

Emma Harrison, 15, from Bugthorpe, near Pocklington, was discovered safe and well in Dublin after police in the Irish capital received reports she had stayed in a guest house.

Her father spotted her in the lively Temple Bar area of the city after travelling to Ireland to join the search.

A Humberside police spokesman said: "She is safe and well and will be travelling back to England with her parents in the very near future."

Emma disappeared on the day she was due to return to classes at Woldgate School, Pocklington, last week, following the summer break. The school contacted her parents after she failed to turn up, and they in turn contacted police.

She had already run away from home the week before, when her parents traced her to York railway station where she was planning to catch a train to London.

It is known that she withdrew money from a York cashpoint last Wednesday before disappearing.

Police began searching in Dublin on Thursday after reports that she had checked into a guesthouse.

Her mother, Helen Cairns, made a public plea to her daughter in the Evening Press on Saturday, saying: "Emma, please come home."

Emma had only started at Woldgate School last term after her family moved to the area from Kirkbymoorside, where she attended Ryedale School, Nawton.

Woldgate headteacher Jeff Bower, who described Emma as a "delightful girl", said there was a feeling of huge relief today at the school that she had been found safe and well. Staff had been desperately concerned for her welfare.

"We have a staff meeting every Monday morning, and everybody was delighted to hear she was OK. There was considerable anxiety over the weekend over what might have happened and there is huge relief today.

"We are expecting her back tomorrow or on Wednesday."

Bugthorpe villager Val Bates, who said she knew the family well, said residents heard on Saturday about Emma's disappearance.

"We are all very sorry it happened," she said. "I hope it all works out well for them. I have only met Emma a couple of times. She seemed like a lovely girl - a mature girl but a very pleasant young person. I am glad they have found her and she is safe. It's a traumatic event for everybody."

Emma's grandmother, Mrs David Sumner, said: "We're clearly very delighted that Emma is safe and sound."

Barbara Cairns, also Emma's grandmother, said Emma's father spotted her on a Dublin street as he left a hotel.

She added: "I am so glad Emma is safe. This has been an absolutely devastating few days.

"You hear of so many terrible things happening but you never think of them happening to you. The family has been under unbelievable strain.

" I am looking forward to seeing her safe and sound when she gets home later today."

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