Three men have been arrested after a body was discovered during a search for a missing midwife in Staffordshire.

Samantha Eastwood, 28, was last seen when she left her night shift at the Royal Stoke Hospital at 7.47am last Friday.

A body was discovered by police investigating her disappearance around midday on Saturday and is yet to be formally identified ahead of a post-mortem.

A 32-year-old man, who was previously released on conditional bail, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Image: Samantha Eastwood has been missing since last Friday

Two other men, aged 28 and 60, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender


On Friday, Samantha's sister Gemma made a tearful appeal for anyone with information about the disappearance to come forward.

'We miss you': Sister appeals for missing midwife

She said: "We miss you very much, we need you home where you belong.

"Samantha is a fantastic woman and friend, she's warm, friendly, loyal, kind and generous with a great sense of humour and whoever she is with will always make their times together fun.

"Samantha was determined to become a midwife from a young age and succeeded.

Image: Ms Eastwood was described by her sister as 'gentle and harmless'

"All of Samantha's work friends describe her as an amazing midwife. She's caring harmless and gentle, she's selfless and would do anything for anyone before herself."

Images of Ms Eastwood's distinctive Radley purse, which is her only missing possession, have been released in the hope someone may have come across the item.

Her bank cards have not been used.

Image: An image of Ms Eastwood's purse was released by police

Police are investigating reports of screaming coming from Ms Eastwood's home in the hours after she was last seen.

She was reported missing by colleagues when she didn't turn up for her shift on Friday evening at 7pm.