Police in England say they are not treating the death of a young girl as suspicious after the discovery of a body believed to be that of missing Amber Peat.

The 13-year-old's family have been informed but no formal identification has taken place, police said.

Officers are at the scene and enquiries are ongoing. A post-mortem is still to take place.

Flowers have been laid at the foot of a tree close to where the body was found, according to reports.

Among those bringing flowers was Amber's best friend, 12-year-old Rianna Richards: "I saw Amber before she went on holiday and she seemed fine.

"She didn't seem worried or anything like that - she didn't seem to have anything bad on her mind. She was just normal. I can’t believe what’s happening."

Her mother Sharon added: "I don't know what to think. It's strange. Everything that's happened in the last few days is just so sad. Amber was a happy girl."

Nottinghamshire Police said in a statement: "Amber's family has been informed and we ask that the media respect their privacy at this difficult time."

The 13-year-old left home at around 5.30pm on Saturday after a "minor disagreement" over chores, police said.

The family had just returned from a holiday in Holywell Bay in Cornwall, which they described as "fantastic".

Earlier, Amber's parents made an emotional plea for her to return.

Kelly and Danny Peat, her mother and stepfather, broke down in tears, saying her disappearance was out of character.

They said at a news conference that Amber walked out after refusing to clean a cool box used to store food on a recent holiday.

Superintendent Matt McFarlane, of Nottinghamshire Police, said there had been "nothing like this before" with Amber.

He said: "In the past, she's a young girl, she's been out of the house perhaps for a few hours but never anything like this.
"This is totally out of character."