Urgent search for baby as Constance Marten and Mark Gordon arrested

A massive search is under way for a missing baby after a couple - Constance Marten and Mark Gordon - were found and arrested in Brighton.

Their baby was thought to be days old when the couple disappeared in January.

The pair have been arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of child neglect, but their baby has not been found.

Officers are scouring an allotment and golf course on the Sussex Downs, in an "urgent search" involving helicopters, drones and police dogs.

Ms Marten and Gordon, a convicted sex offender, were found after being spotted by a member of the public in the Fiveways area of north Brighton on Monday evening.

The pair were heavily clothed for outdoor activity, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford from the Met Police said, and were heading back into an open land area when they were arrested.

• CCTV shows how search for missing couple unfolded

In a direct appeal to the public, police said the search was "now all about that baby".

Det Supt Basford told journalists: "We are still in a position where we still hold hope that the child is safe and well."

But he raised concerns about the child being exposed to the elements, and said the search was now against the clock.

Temperatures are expected to plummet to 1C overnight in the Brighton area.

Police did not rule out that someone could be harbouring the baby, though they said this was unlikely.

The couple had been travelling across England by taxi for weeks - apparently evading police - after their car broke down near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon disappeared with a newborn baby more than seven weeks ago

"The arrest location was close to open land and the couple were moving towards that land. We know that they travel, we know they travel long distances," said Det Supt Basford.

"My plea to the members of the public here in Brighton and crossing over towards Newhaven is to please be vigilant."

Ms Marten's father Napier Marten expressed his "immense relief" that his daughter had been found, "tempered by the very alarming news her baby has yet to be found," he told The Independent.

Police cars were seen lining the northern tip of Stanmer Villas, sandwiched between Hollingbury Golf Course and Roedale Valley Allotments, where officers are focusing their search.

This is a quiet, highly residential neighbourhood on the northern edge of Brighton.

Residents in the houses facing the allotments have been following the search from their balconies, keen to be abreast of any significant developments.

More than 200 officers have been deployed to Sussex as part of the investigation, police said, "offering significant resources, specialist capabilities, local knowledge and peer support".

Aerial view of Crichel House, believed to be Ms Marten's childhood home

Ms Marten and her partner left their home in Eltham, south-east London, in September, after she first showed signs of pregnancy.

Their car broke down on the M61 near Bolton and was found burning on 5 January - after which the couple travelled in quick succession to Liverpool, Essex and London.

CCTV footage showed them apparently trying to hide their faces from cameras.

They were thought to be carrying a large amount of cash and to be using camping equipment to live off-grid, police said.

When they first disappeared, police said they were concerned that the couple seemed to be "constantly moving and awake for at least a few days - which must be especially draining on someone who had recently given birth with no medical attention".

They also said there was no evidence that either Ms Marten or the baby had been assessed by medical professionals since the child's birth.

At the end of January, detectives offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the couple's whereabouts.

Ms Marten, 35, is from a wealthy family and had a privileged upbringing, attending private school and living in a stately home in Dorset.

Police said she became estranged from her family after meeting Gordon while a drama student in 2016.

Gordon, a registered sex offender, was deported to Britain from the United States in 2010 after spending 20 years in prison for a rape he committed aged 14.