A FARM and a charity shop were being searched this week after police arrested two men in connection with the disappearance of Bradford on Avon woman Melanie Hall .

The 25-year-old vanished on June 9, 1996, after a night out with friends at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath. Her body has never been found.

This week 40 police officers were back working on the case and on Wednesday police arrested two men, said to be in their 30s and from the Bath area, after officers received fresh information.

The investigation into Melanie's disappearance has never been closed and police hope these new leads could finally solve the mystery of what happened to the hospital worker.

Detective Superintendent Barrie Douglas, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is a prime example, when nearly seven years later someone turns up with information, and you just wonder whether there are other people out there who need to search their conscience as well.

"They need to come forward, in particular for Melanie's family who have suffered long enough.

"In this case someone has finally decided to tell us something, and we have been able to make these arrests."

Melanie was brought up in the Bradford on Avon area and was living in Bradford Leigh with her parents when she vanished.

She had just graduated from Bath University and was employed as a clerical worker at the Royal United Hospital.

Her father, Steve Hall told the Wiltshire Times he and his wife Pat had been kept informed of the developments in the case.

Mr Hall said: "It has come as a bit of a shock to hear of the arrests. It is far too early to know whether this will finally lead to the truth about what happened. We hope this is the breakthrough the police need."

Police have now made a new appeal for information.

Det Supt Douglas said: "To jog people's memories, on Saturday June 5, the Euro '96 football tournament hosted in England started."

Melanie's disappearance sparked one of the biggest police investigations by Avon and Somerset police.

Thousands of interviews and searches failed to produce any sign of what happened when she left the nightclub.

Melanie had gone to the club in Walcot Street with new boyfriend, Philip Kurlbaum, then a doctor at the RUH.

He left Cadillacs at 1am thinking Melanie had left with friends, but her friends had left without her thinking she was with him.

She had only been seeing him for a few weeks when she disappeared and police have confirmed he is not involved in the inquiry.

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