South African authorities have intensified the search for a missing six-year-old girl, with a unit of the navy joining the operation.

Pieces of clothing allegedly stained with blood were found in Saldanha Bay near Cape Town over the weekend.

Joslin Smith disappeared from outside her home in an informal settlement in Saldanha on 19 February.

On Sunday, the South African Police Service said that an identified area in Diazville in the locality had been subdivided into zones to coordinate the search.

It said that a mounted police unit and more specialized dogs had been brought in to scour the identified area.

The items found over the weekend have been sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis.

The police have appealed to the public, “to refrain from spreading false information on social media and recording the searches" as this may affect the investigation.

“The primary focus of the coordinated efforts should be to find Joslin or what happened to her,” it said.