The grandparents of a schoolgirl who vanished eight weeks ago are looking forward to an emotional reunion after she was found.

Alex Heamen, 14, who had not been seen since September 1, was discovered by detectives at a flat in Putney, London, on Monday afternoon.

Her grandparents, Sheila and John Dunstan, who looked after Alex, from Lewes, for a year when she was ten, said they were ecstatic when they heard the news.

Mrs Dunstan, 60, of St Columb Major, in Cornwall, said: "You cannot believe how happy we are feeling.

"When I see Alex, I will just kiss her and give her a huge hug. I have not thought about anything else."

Mrs Dunstan and her husband John, 68, spent a fortnight in Sussex after Alex went missing on September 1.

They made a tearful appeal for her to get in touch but had begun to fear the worst.

Mrs Dunstan said: "I have not had a good night's sleep or eaten properly since Alex went missing. John and I would sit up in the morning running through all the dreadful scenarios in our head.

"We don't know any of the details about why she ran away but we are over the moon she has been found."

The couple will discuss with social services whether Alex will continue to live in Abergavenny Road, Lewes, or move to Cornwall with them.

Mrs Dunstan thanked Sussex Police and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, of Sussex Police major crime branch, who led the search.

She said: "I cannot praise them enough. The family liaison officers kept in touch all the time and Mr Hibbert was absolutely magnificent. Their hard work and determination to find Alex was unbelievable."

Mr Hibbert had intended to spend the week in Croydon with a team of officers following up lines of inquiry but travelled to Putney after receiving a phone call with information about Alex's whereabouts.

Officers followed a girl matching her description to a third-floor flat in Putney and when they knocked on the door she answered.

Alex travelled back to Eastbourne on Monday night and was reunited with her mother, Tamsin Leverton.

Child protection team officers and social services staff will now talk to Alex about her disappearance.

Mr Hibbert said he believed Alex had been staying at the flat of her own free will for the past eight weeks and was aware detectives had been searching for her.

Mr Hibbert said: Finding Alex is a huge relief and it has been a great pleasure to be able to tell her family she is safe and well."