A DESPERATE mother today begged her missing teenage daughter to get in touch as police step up their search for the youngster.Kerry Nicol faced the press and TV cameras and said her fears for 19-year-old Tania are growing by the day after she disappeared last Tuesday.

A DESPERATE mother today begged her missing teenage daughter to get in touch as police step up their search for the youngster.

Kerry Nicol faced the press and TV cameras and said her fears for 19-year-old Tania are growing by the day after she disappeared last Tuesday.

And detectives said that they were growing increasingly concerned for the safety of the young woman who is believed to work as a prostitute.

Speaking directly to her daughter, Mrs Nicol said: “Tania just please pick up the phone and give me a call. Or if any or her friends know anything please let me know.”

Tania left the house she shares with her mother in Woolverstone Close, Ipswich, at around 10pm on October 30 and has not been seen since.

Her mother believes the 19-year-old was heading into the town centre to work in the Handford Road and Burlington Road area.

Today Mrs Nicol said Tania had been missing for a few days before but has always got in touch.

She said: “She has gone missing a few times before. Once she stayed out for four days but she always phones to let me know she is safe.

“She is normally just staying at a friend's house and always calls me after a day or two.

“I left it a few days and kept thinking she would come home at any time. It wasn't until the following Wednesday that I called police and even then I half expected her to walk through the door.”

Mrs Nicol waited two days before she called police at 10.45pm on November 1 to report her daughter missing.

At a conference held at Ipswich police station today detective chief inspector, John Quinton, said they had become extremely worried for Tania's safety because of the vulnerable lifestyle she led.

He said: “Because of her lifestyle and the fact that she is known to work as a prostitute we need to find her and be assured that she is safe and well.

“Friends and family have been spoken to and addresses she is believed to frequent have been checked but to no avail.”

Mr Quinton said it is thought Tania would have caught a bus from Belmont Road to the town centre and police have attempted to check CCTV footage on buses to trace her movements.

He added: “Unfortunately the work we have done to date has not found her on any of those buses.

“We would like to appeal to anybody who knows where Tania is to contact us or for Tania to contact us herself.”

Tania is olive-skinned, 5ft 2in, slim build, with shoulder-length light brown hair, brown eyes and a spotty complexion.

The last time she was seen by her mother she was wearing a black jacket, blue jeans that were either full or three-quarter in length, and high-heeled shoes.

Anyone with information should contact Suffolk police on 01473 613588 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.