Jane Longhurst was last seen by her partner on 14 March

Detectives investigating the murder of teacher Jane Longhurst have received 50 phone calls since a news conference on Monday.

Sussex Police appealed for information after the burnt body of the 31-year-old was found in a nature reserve 18 miles from her home in Brighton.

The special needs teacher had been missing since 14 March.

Firefighters found Ms Longhurst's body at Wiggenholt Common in Pulborough after being called to a blaze there on Saturday.

A post-mortem revealed she had been strangled and had been dead for a number of weeks.

Officers from Operation Keen, which was set up five days after Ms Longhurst vanished, were following up the leads from the phone calls on Tuesday and continuing house to house inquiries.

The body was found 18 miles from where Jane lived

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Dennis, senior investigating officer, said: "There is a lot of work to be done and officers on the team will be working around the clock to find Jane's killer.

"The biggest thing we need from the public is information. Someone must have seen something on Saturday night in the Wiggonholt area that didn't seem quite right."

DCI Dennis renewed an appeal for the owners of three cars to come forward.

They are:

• a Renault Espace, seen driving up and down the street, with a registration beginning similar to L960 and ending RX
• a red Volkswagon car, seen coming from the A283, which slowed down at the scene of the blaze, with a male driver aged 40 to 45, with a scruffy appearance and long brown or blond hair
• a brown or dark green Ford Focus parked in a nearby car park

He said: "It may be that the people with these cars didn't see anything but we would still urge them to make contact with us.

"Something that seems small and insignificant could hold the key to finding the person that carried out this horrific murder."

'Delightful, genuine and caring'

On Monday DCI Dennis said they believed the killer tried to get rid of Ms Longhurst's body in a fit of panic.

He said she had probably been kept somewhere and that her body was "well preserved".

In a statement Ms Longhurst's family said she was loved by all and lived life to the full.

Her colleagues paid tribute to her as a "delightful, genuine and caring person".

The headteacher of Uplands special school in Brighton, where she worked, said staff were "deeply shocked" at the news of her death.

Police also want to hear from anyone who may know where Ms Longhurst's blue Nokia 3310 mobile phone, black Next wallet, shoes and blue denim jacket are.