Detectives are using specialist equipment to resume their search for a missing mother of two.

Elaine Taggart has not been seen since January 3.

Andy Taggart, her husband, has been on bail since he was arrested on suspicion of her murder in April.

Yesterday morning major crime branch detectives returned to the couple's home in Ferring, near Worthing, to renew their hunt for her body.

They worked with specialist mechanical equipment provided by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service provided while a search team used spades and rakes to dig at potential burial sites.

The search, sparked by police intelligence, focused on the garden. Mr Taggart, who worked in the construction industry before giving up work through disability, is still living at the house.

Detective Inspector Wendy Burton, of Sussex Police's major crime branch, led yesterday's operation. She said: "We have been doing some searching here today. We have not found anything yet but we will be back in the morning."

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert confirmed the search will continue today.

He said: "We have been continuing our inquiries since Elaine was reported missing in January.

"These searches are the result of intelligence and information we have received.

"Suffice to say our inquiries are ongoing and we are continuing to try to establish what happened to Elaine."

Mrs Taggart, 48, a catering finance manager at Brighton College, was last seen on January 3. She was seen dropping off a colleague in Kemp Town, near Brighton seafront, after work on that day.

Her husband told The Argus she packed clothes, her passport and £2,000 cash before leaving their home in Ferringham Lane the following morning. The couple have a daughter Sophie, 11, and a 14-year-old son, Daniel.

Mrs Taggart's red Fiat Punto car was found in Goring Street, near Goring Station, on January 4.

Sophie wrote an open letter to her mother appealing to her to come home for Mother's Day.

Mrs Taggart's Chelsea Pensioner father Douglas Hassall gave a news conference asking her to make contact.

Mr Taggart was questioned for 36 hours after his arrest before being released on bail.

He returned to Worthing Police Station on May 27 and was bailed again until July 17.

After his arrest officers made detailed searches of the Taggart family home, pulling up carpets and floorboards and removing several sealed plastic bags containing items from the house.

The house's front and back gardens have been dug up, as has a building site two doors away.

Sniffer dogs specially trained to find human remains have helped search in nearby woods.

Searches have also been carried out in the Highdown area of Worthing and Worthing Rugby Club's ground in Angmering.

Police last night refused to say exactly what the West Sussex Fire and Rescue's technical rescue unit was doing at the site. The unit's equipment includes tools for cutting through concrete.

Anyone with information about Mrs Taggart's disappearance is asked to call Sussex Police, quoting Operation Gordon, on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.