Joan Lawrence: how can I face another Christmas morning thinking 'where is Claudia'?

The mother of Claudia Lawrence has told Calendar of her heartbreak at Christmas time, after finding a box of cards from her missing daughter.

Joan Lawrence is facing her eighth year without knowing what happened to Claudia, who would have been 41 now.

Claudia was last seen leaving her shift as a chef at York University on the 18th March 2009. She went home to her house in Heworth a couple of miles away, but was reported missing the next day. Despite a huge police search, no sign of Claudia has ever been found. A number of men in their 50s were arrested last year, but no charges were ever brought.

The cards, always signed with her nickname Clauds, were found in a memory box, alongside many saved by Claudia herself, from her family and friends.

In one of the cards, Claudia writes: "for the best mum in the world, with love at Christmas."

Joan says she has found Christmas particularly difficult this year:

Click below to watch the video report, in which Joan Lawrence speaks to Christine Talbot: