Police have thanked members of the public for their help in finding Lillia, a 13-year-old girl who went missing for over a week.

After Lillia was reported missing on Friday 11 September, Police launched an extensive search campaign which involved help from the public.

Residents across Greater Manchester and beyond shared pictures of Lillia, submitted information, and kept on the lookout for her.

She was eventually found by police in Manchester city centre on Saturday 19 September.

But Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley, District Commander for Bolton, said finding Lillia would not have been possible without the public's help.

"I want to thank the public, not just in Greater Manchester but throughout the whole of the country for their submissions of information through our online public portal, via the phone lines and everyone who shared our appeals online", Chief Superintendent Critchley said.

"Without your support, we would not have been able to track Lillia down and bring her home safely.

"I would also like to extend my thanks to the officers who located her while out on proactive patrols, as well as the many officers and staff behind the scenes working to further the investigation.

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"We have engaged with every police officer in the force who have been on duty since she has been missing and circulated her image to them, in the hope that one of them would be able to recognise her.

"Thankfully, officers noticed someone that looked like her and engaged and ascertained it was Lillia.

The role of the media cannot be understated as well, the sharing of appeals, pictures and the press conference we held with Lillia's mum hitting TV screens has been a massive help, I cannot thank them enough.

"Finally, I would like to finish by paying tribute to Lillia's mum who has worked with us throughout this investigation, she has shown incredible strength in what has been eight days of torture for her and her family.

"We have kept her updated throughout and it gives me immense pleasure that we can reunite her with her little girl.

"In what will be a truly emotional time, I would request that Lillia, her mum and her family are given the privacy and respect they deserve following an incident such as this."