GIRL, 3, ASLEEP IN SUITCASE

Muumbe Hapenga’s father dialled 999 after a frantic and fruitless search of their house in Leicester.

Police cars and helicopters were deployed and neighbours, friends and off-duty officers joined the effort to find the three-year-old, scouring streets and gardens.

Then at 4pm on Tuesday, after searching the family home for a second time, police officers found the youngster asleep under clothes inside a large suitcase. Her father, Austen Hapenga, 39, a mental health nurse, said: “I checked the house two or three times and I even looked in the suitcase, but she had buried herself under the clothes. I was really scared when I couldn’t find her.

“I kept thinking about all the things that have happened to children and it made me terrified.”

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: “Officers would like to thank members of the local community for their help during the search.”