And yet, one little girl is still missing and one mum's heart is still breaking.

The statistics for the massive police operation that has surrounded the search for Shannon Matthews are staggering but no real breakthrough has emerged.

As strong winds hit West Yorkshire yesterday, scores of police were again out in force, this time carrying out an 'infoseek' in the major roads around Shannon's house.

Stopping motorists one by one, clipboard-carrying officers dug away for the tiniest shred of information.

Earlier, officers had been rummaging bins for any clues to Shannon's whereabouts.

Police sniffer dogs have also been called in, and it is rumoured that experts from the anti-terror squad are helping to examine CCTV footage.

The 'Find Shannon' police operation has been amazingly well-co-ordinated and senior officers have been very keen to tell us how many resources they have thrown at it.

As rows of uniformed officers stopped cars yesterday, it was hard not to wonder how useful the exercise would actually be, when so many others had produced nothing.

Onlookers commented that perhaps now was the time for police to spread the net a bit wider, after all, if somebody does have Shannon, they are unlikely to be keeping her in the local area.

But there is always hope, and hope is what is driving every aspect of this operation for everyone involved.

As police questioned motorists near School Lane, close to Shannon's school, a number of parents walked past with their young children at home time.

Some looked bewildered, some looked nervous, but all, it seemed, were gripping their child's hand very tightly.

A 'Missing Child' notice told drivers why they were being stopped as a beaming, smiling picture of Shannon stared out from the poster.

Nearby, a lamppost bore an earlier poster. The paper had become worn, slightly ravaged by the bad weather perhaps, but also a poignant reminder that this investigation may only be seven days old, but many will feel it has been going for an eternity.

Until now, no one would publicly utter the words which reveal everyone's deepest fears, but today, it seems, we have the first real acknowledgement this has now become much more than a simple case of a runaway child.