Police searching for April Jones have renewed their focus on a small village a few miles from where she disappeared.

On day 11 of the search scores of police officers scoured land around Ceinws, which lies three miles north of Machynlleth.

It is the small village where Mark Bridger, the man accused of murdering April, had been living before his arrest.

Teams from Dyfed Powys police were joined by officers from Gwent, South Wales and British Transport Police in what Supt Ian John called a “forensic deep search”.

One police officer told Sky News: “You just don’t want to give up, we’ve been told to rest but you just want to keep going.”

Specialist underwater teams were working in nearby quarries and potholes while police dog teams continued to scour the same valley.

A single caravan that stands in woods just outside the village has been cordoned off with police tape for several days.

Investigators said it “is one of a number of search areas in and around Machynlleth”.

Supt John said of the officers: “We have almost got to send them home because they are tired they need to have rest so that they can come back, but they just don’t want to go home. Their commitment to finding April is just astounding.”

He also confirmed that April’s family has visited the search teams and thanked them for their efforts.

Supt John said: “It is very touching and heart-warming and I can reassure everybody we are completely motivated and focused on what we have got to do.”

Bridger, 46, is charged with April’s murder and abduction and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He has been remanded in custody until January 11.

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