Sighting of green car gives new lead in the hunt for missing girls

A man was seen driving erratically from Soham with two children in his car on the night Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman vanished, according to a witness.

In what could be a breakthrough in the hunt for the 10-year-olds, a taxi driver saw a man with unkempt hair "thrashing" about in a green saloon on the A142 within an hour of the girls' disappearance from the Cambridgeshire town.

Police in the county admitted last night that the tip-off was made on Wednesday last week – four days before officers interviewed the driver.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb said: "While following him, [the driver] began to swerve. He could see the driver of the car thrashing his arms around. His behaviour was clearly bizarre. He was driving erratically, turning around and facing backwards, swerving over the white lines." For six or seven minutes, the taxi followed the dark metallic-green car at speeds of up to 55mph. As the taxi driver got closer, he could see two small children, one in the front and a second with light brown hair in the back.

"It may be a significant line of inquiry. I hope it is the breakthrough," said Det Ch Insp Hebb, the deputy senior officer on the case. Detectives from Operation Fincham appealed for any more information about the car – believed to be a Peugeot 405 or a Vauxhall Vectra – as they examined further reports of a similar vehicle being seen in Soham that Sunday night.

Det Ch Insp Hebb said: "The significant thing is a green car has come up on a number of occasions." He said there were two or three potential sightings of the car in the town centre but none of them mentioned children.

Police said the man they were looking for was white and aged between 38 and 45, with a tanned, Mediterranean appearance. He had wiry, unkempt black hair, no longer than collar length, and was wearing dark clothes on his upper body.

"As a matter of urgency, we need to trace this vehicle. If there is an innocent explanation, I would urge the driver of the vehicle to contact police immediately so we can eliminate him from our inquiry," Det Ch Insp Hebb said.

The taxi driver was confident he had seen the suspicious vehicle at about 7pm on 4 August – the time the two girls were last seen – driving away from Soham on the A142 towards Newmarket. The two cars took different routes just outside Newmarket.

Last night, detectives were checking whether anyone known to the girls' families had cars similar to the dark-green saloon in the description.

Family liaison officers passed on the latest development to Jessica's and Holly's parents, who were making a televised appeal for their daughters' return.