Police warn vigilantes after Shannon mother remanded

Police warned neighbours of Shannon Matthews not to take the law into their own hands on Wednesday after her mother was remanded in custody in connection with her disappearance.

Officers in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, handed out leaflets urging people to show restraint after reports said residents were angry about the family's alleged role in the case.

The windows and doors of the girl's family home were boarded up with metal grilles, while police stood outside.

The leaflets said: "It is important that the community does not jump to any conclusions about people who may be involved in this inquiry.

"Please do not take the law into your own hands and leave the police to do their job."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said there had been no specific threats and the leaflets were a precautionary measure.

"We've been putting them out since day one," he said. "They are a means of communicating with the local people."

Karen Matthews, 32, appeared before Dewsbury magistrates charged with perverting the course of justice and child neglect. She will next appear in court on April 16.

Her nine-year-old daughter disappeared after a school swimming trip in February, sparking a massive police hunt.

She was found safe and well in the base of a bed about a mile from her home 24 days later.

Matthews was arrested on Sunday, becoming the fourth member of the girl's extended family to be held in connection with her disappearance.

Matthews' partner Craig Meehan, 22, has been remanded in custody on charges of possessing indecent images of children.

Michael Donovan, the 39-year-old uncle of Meehan, has been charged with abduction and imprisonment in the case.

He was taken to hospital on Sunday after a case of "serious self harm", a Ministry of Justice source said, but has since returned to Leeds prison.

Two other family members were released on police bail on Saturday pending further investigations.

Media reports identified the pair as Amanda Hyett, 25, and Alice Meehan, 48, the sister and mother of Craig Meehan.

Hyett was held on suspicion of assisting an offender while Meehan was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Shannon Matthews has not returned home since her rescue and remains in the care of social services.