A HUSBAND told of his joy and relief after his wife and mother-in-law, who had been missing for three days, were found safe and well.Gavin McGuire was due to be reunited with his wife, Josephine, late last night after a major police search spanning several counties.

A HUSBAND told of his joy and relief after his wife and mother-in-law, who had been missing for three days, were found safe and well.

Gavin McGuire was due to be reunited with his wife, Josephine, late last night after a major police search spanning several counties.

She had left their home in Holton, near Halesworth, on Sunday, to pick up her mother, Doris Slatter, 88, from a hospital in Great Yarmouth.

The pair had been expected to return to Suffolk later that day and Mr McGuire called the police after they failed to turn up.

A major media appeal was launched in a bid to trace the two women, and yesterday the family received the news they had been waiting for. The pair were spotted shopping in Chelmsford by a member of the public and a store worker contacted police.

Suffolk police said the mother and daughter "appeared well" and indicated they would be making their way home.

Mr McGuire, a teacher, said: "It is really great news that both my wife and mother-in-law are safe and well.

"It is such a relief and we just want to spend time together as a family to sort things out."

It is believed Mrs McGuire, 53, a teacher at a Lowestoft middle school who had been suffering from depression, had taken Mrs Slatter, who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, on a "tour".