Detectives searching for missing schoolgirl Alice Gross have released CCTV images of cyclists riding past the spot where she was last seen.

Officers are looking to track down the riders in the hope they hold clues as to the whereabouts of the 14-year-old.

Fears continue to grow for the wellbeing of Alice, who has anorexia and disappeared from her home on Thursday, August 28.

Grainy images show three cyclists riding on the towpath by the Trumpers Way Canal Bridge in Hanwell, west London, moments before Alice walked past at 4.23pm. Two more cyclists then pass under the bridge on the Grand Union Canal.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Chalmers, from homicide and major crime command, said: “I would urge everyone to take a good look at the pictures released today to see if it jogs any memories of the day Alice went missing.

“If you are one of the cyclists pictured then please call the investigation team immediately, because we need to find Alice.

“Her disappearance is out of character and this investigation continues to be a priority for us.

“I would like to directly appeal to anyone who has any information to come forward and speak to us. The information you hold, no matter how small, may just be the vital piece of information we require.”

Police have looked through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage in a bid to find the teenager and have carried out extensive searches using specialist officers.

Alice was last seen by her family at 1pm, when she left her home in Hanwell. She told her family she would be back in the evening, but failed to return. CCTV spotted her at 2.23pm walking along the towpath toward Kew. She seen at the same point, heading back toward Hanwell, at 3.45pm.

Alice is 5ft 2in, slim, with shoulder-length, light brown hair.

She was last seen wearing dark blue jeans and a dark green lacy cardigan and carrying a rucksack, which was recovered earlier this week.

Officers have been out at the towpath today appealing for information. They are also urging anyone who may have befriended Alice while on a song-writing workshop at the Camden Roundhouse to come forward.

They said they “retain an open mind” about what may have happened to Alice, and are investigating whether she may have been a victim of a crime, although there is no concrete information to suggest anything untoward has happened.

Earlier this week Alice’s mother, Rosalind Hodgkiss, issued an emotional appeal to help find her daughter.

She said: “We’d like to say to Alice first of all that we miss her, that we love her and that she’s not in any trouble, and we want to know that she’s safe. We just want her to come home.

“We’re also appealing to anybody who might have seen her or who may have made contact with her or who may know something about her whereabouts to contact police or Missing People, and to just get in touch because we’re really concerned about her well-being.”

Anyone with information can call police on 020 8358 0100; Ealing Missing Persons Unit on 020 8246 1018 or the charity Missing People on 116000.