Mother-of-three with post-natal depression who disappeared on trip to buy nappies from Tesco is found dead in field near home .

Police searching for a missing mother-of-three who vanished while suffering post-natal depression have found a body.

Karen Simpson, 31, disappeared from her home in the village of Burscough, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, on Sunday morning when she went to a local Tesco store leaving her three-month-old girl with relatives and never returned.

She had told family members that she needed to 'clear her head.'

More than 170 people had been involved in a search of the area including 70 police officers plus mountain rescue teams, police divers, the force helicopter and volunteers.

But Lancashire Police have confirmed that they found a body, believed to be that of Mrs Simpson, in a field in her home village this morning.

A police spokesman said: 'Karen’s family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.'

The force said the death was not being treated as suspicious at this stage.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out to establish how she died.

Mrs Simpson was married to husband Philip and had two young sons as well as her three-month-old daughter.

She was seen leaving the Tesco store in the village at about 11am but did not return to her nearby home as expected.

In a statement today, Lancashire Police said: 'Very sadly, at around 10.30am this morning, the body of a woman was found in a field off Marsh Moss Lane in Burscough.

'The body is believed to be that of missing 31-year-old Karen Simpson who had not been seen since the weekend.

'A post-mortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death but at this stage there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.