DETECTIVES spent nine months asking organisations to check for evidence that missing teenager Jenny Nicholl was still alive - only to realise they had misspelt her name on the request.

The blunder was revealed yesterday at the trial of unemployed father-of-two David Hodgson, who is accused of Jenny's murder.

The jury at Teesside Crown Court was told how ten police officers worked full-time, from February to October last year, to establish if any official organisations had records of Jenny after June 30, 2005.

Police gave them three variations of the teenager's name to check - Jennifer Nicholl, Jenny Nicholl and Jennifer Sarah Nicholl, the court was told.

However, the shop worker's middle name is Sara - not Sarah.

Giving evidence, Detective Sergeant Jonathan Spivey, the man who co-ordinated the proofof- death investigation, admitted he only discovered the error when the inquiries were finished.

He said he decided not to repeat the exercise with the correct spelling of Jenny's middle name.

"I did not believe that the addition of the h' would have made any difference to the search," he said.

The police officer admitted he had not checked with the organisations if searching under the correct name would have made a difference.

Detectives wrote to hundreds of official organisations and businesses asking them to check their files, the court heard.

The list included every police force in the country, Interpol, bank and building societies, utility companies and NHS trusts.

Government agencies, missing- from-home charities and internet companies such as eBay and Friends Reunited were also contacted.

The court heard how Jenny's disappearance was featured in the local and nation media.

Hundreds of posters with a picture of Jenny were put up, and the appeal was featured on BBC1 programme Crimewatch.

However, despite the publicity and contact with official bodies, the jury was told that no firm evidence that Jenny is still alive has been uncovered.

Mr Hodgson, 37, of Olav Road, Richmond, North Yorkshire, denies murdering Jenny on or about June 30, 2005.

The trial continues.