Poignant song lyrics written by a missing Cheshire teenage girl have been read by Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati.

Shafilea Ahmed, 17, was last seen at her home in Warrington on September 11.

The teenager had recently returned from a trip to Pakistan where she drank bleach after being introduced to a suitor for an arranged marriage.

The injuries she suffered required regular medical attention and detectives from Cheshire believe she must be dead.

They have refused to rule out the possibility that her disappearance is linked to her apparent refusal to marry.

Song lyrics found in the teenager's bedroom were read out by actress Ms Gulati, who plays Sunita in Coronation Street. She joined police in the investigation into Shafilea's disappearance.

In one song, titled Happy Families, the westernised teenager refers to a clash of cultures.

Detective Chief Inspector Geraint Jones, asked if he had ruled out the possibility of an "honour killing", said, That remains a line of inquiry.''

But he distanced himself from the phrase "honour killing" and added, "It is not a phrase I have used and it is not a phrase I find appropriate.

Shafilea lived with her three younger sisters and one younger brother in the Great Sankey area of Warrington.

Ms Gulati said she sympathised with the teenager's difficulty in balancing her culture with her upbringing.

She said, "Many of us are sympathetic. She has obviously been unable to express herself in terms of her family and she probably talks like this to her friends, or she has written these songs in private.

"If your parents are not from here and you are born here then, yes, there are cultural issues and it can be difficult.

"As far as I can see Shafilea may have been involved in some kind of marriage arrangement where perhaps she doesn't want to be in that arrangement.

"She was studying to be a lawyer and I believe her studies were very important to her.

"She did go over to Pakistan to meet a boy and she may have been writing about that.

"I think she is definitely looking as though she is trapped between two cultures. She wants to express something and she feels unable to do that."

Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 01244 613836.