THE family of missing Corrie McKeague have said they have no issue with the delay in starting a landfill search despite media reports. 

The RAF gunner from Dunfermline went missing after a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds nearly five months ago. 

ITV reported that Corrie's mum, Nicola Urquhart, was "greatly" concerned over delays to search a landfill site in Cambridgeshire for her missing son. 

She said: "Although we have always been desperate for the landfill to be searched, neither myself, Makeyan nor Darroch have no issue whatsoever in this delay. 

"This is an incredibly difficult task and the health and safety of all concerned in the search is paramount.

"If it takes a month to prepare, we do not mind. It's getting done now and that's all that is important."

CCTV shows a waste lorry made a collection in an area of Bury St Edmunds known as the horseshoe shortly after the last confirmed sighting of Corrie.

Suffolk Police are due to start going through a landfill site in Milton in Cambridgeshire, after the waste lorry made drops off to that site that were never searched. 

Work at the landfill site has been delayed because 8,000 tonnes of bulk material needs to be removed and walkways need to be built to make it safe before the search takes place. 

This could take police up to two weeks to do. 

Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott said: “The work to trace Corrie remains a priority and we are continuing to progress our investigation as the work around the site search is being planned.

"It was initially hoped that the search could start next week but the logistics of building access routes and ensuring the area is safely accessible for those who will be carrying out the work mean further preparatory activity will need to be done first.

“This is a considerable task and we need to ensure everything is in place before officers begin the process of going through the waste in the landfill.

"We have been liaising with Corrie’s family around the timescales involved and, while we can’t confirm a start date, this preliminary work will be completed as quickly as possible, so the full scale search can take place."

However, the Corrie investigation has received a boost after police revealed that a potential witness has been traced. 

A cyclist in recently-released CCTV images has been identified and may hold vital clues but two remaining individuals seen on foot in the area where Corrie was last seen have still not been traced.