A tube of lipgloss identical to one bought by missing schoolgirl Danielle Jones was found in her uncle's house, a court has heard.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told the item was discovered in the loft of Stuart Campbell five days after the 15-year-old went missing in June 2001.

Mr Campbell, 44, from Grays in Essex, denies kidnapping and murdering Danielle, from East Tilbury in Essex.

On Monday, the court heard evidence from one of Danielle's schoolfriends, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Shopping trip

The 16-year-old was handed a clear plastic bag containing the lipgloss found at Mr Campbell's house.

The court heard she and Danielle had bought the same brand during a shopping trip in early June 2001.

The witness said the day after Danielle's disappearance Mr Campbell was by the school bus stop in his van.

She and another friend went to talk to him as he stood on the pavement.

She said he had asked "in a forceful way" if they knew where Danielle was.

Second message

They then asked to see a text message he claimed to have received from Danielle.

"I went to reach out to read the message. He pulled it (the phone) away," she said.

On a different occasion, the witness said she had asked "uptight" Mr Campbell to show her the second message he claimed to have received from her friend.

"He held it (the phone) in the same way he did the first time.

"He said it was the last time I was going to see it. I was angry."

The prosecution alleges Mr Campbell sent the two messages he claims were from Danielle to himself.

Soldier's letter

The court was told about a letter received by Danielle when she returned from a school field trip in June from a soldier she was corresponding with called Matt.

The witness said: "Matt took the relationship more seriously than Danielle did.

"As far as I was aware she had no immediate intentions to meet up with him."

The court heard she had told the soldier she was 17 and at college.

Last week, the court heard evidence from Danielle's father Tony Jones.

He said he had been "suspicious" of his brother-in-law's relationship with his daughter.

The court has also heard claims by the prosecution that Mr Campbell was "fixated" with Danielle, and obsessed with schoolgirls.

Danielle was last seen on 18 June as she walked to the bus stop near her home.

Her body has never been found.

The trial continues.