POLICE bosses say a finger-tip search carried out during the investigation into the murder of Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh was “one of the biggest in UK police history”.

Officers launched a major search of Tanner’s Brook in Southampton in the hunt for clues following the discovery of the 13-year-old’s body.

Hampshire Constabulary say they called in 190 officers from 12 different police forces to help with the search, which produced a “lucky break” when officers found a Tesco bag of clothing and a blood-stained hooded jumper at Tanner’s Brook.

An investigation revealed DNA and clothing fibre links to both Lucy and Nicholson.

Detective Superintendent, Paul Barton, said: “It was a huge task for the search team.

“It was a difficult area to search, because of terrain and vegetation and particularly removing the evidence.”

He added: “It was a lucky break through at Tanner’s Brook.”

Senior District Crown Prosecutor John Montague, who worked on the case, added: “It was one of the largest searches in UK history but it was crucial because it revealed the clothing.

“The search area presented huge challenges.

“Even after the finding we still did not know what it contained until we received the results from the DNA investigation.”

Mr Montague also said police and the CPS had gone through tens of thousands of hours of CCTV to find images of Lucy on the day she disappeared.

These included images of her near to her home around 9am on July 25 and the final sighting of her at Tesco Express in Coxford Road, near the Sports Centre, around 10am.

In total, police say they had more than 300 reports from members of the public in relation to the case.

They also trawled through more than 11,000 hours of CCTV from 140 premises and collected 2,300 exhibits.

In total, police searched 150 acres during the investigation - the equivalent of 75 football pitches. Nearly half of that was at Tanner’s Brook.