MORE than 100 volunteers teamed up at Southampton Sports Centre to continue the search for the murder weapon used to kill 13-year-old Lucy McHugh.

The second community search organised by Karen Watkins saw friends and well-wishers come together in the hopes of getting justice for Lucy.

Armed with sticks and gloves, and even a couple of metal detectors, the volunteers split into small groups and searched the hedgerows and woodlands near the sports ground for several hours.

Karen Watkins said: "I couldn't believe the turn out tonight - it's been amazing.

“I'm so grateful to all the people that showed up tonight.

“It just goes to show the amount of people who are thinking about Lucy.

On the chances of the search party finding something, Ms Watkins said: “It's a needle in a haystack but it would be fantastic if we did find something that could help the investigation."

During the search several items were found and taken away by police including a mobile phone, items of clothing and a wood saw.

Volunteer Dave Hooper said: "I thought I would come and help as something needs to be done.

"It's such a big area it needs lots of people to come and help with the search."