Mum Diana suffered double heartache after her husband died four years ago. Not only did she have to cope with his loss, but her 32-year-old son Alex went missing as well.

“Alex took his father’s death very badly indeed,” she explained.  “They were very close – they even looked alike – and it was a devastating blow for him.

“He used to keep in touch regularly but after his dad died he stopped phoning and then vanished completely.”

Diana, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, and her two other children tried everything they could to find Alex but had no success.

“My daughter was often in tears about his disappearance,” she recalled.

Finally, her son Barry contacted Missing People and asked for help. It proved no easy matter. But eventually, after over six month's work, we managed to track Alex down. He wasn't well, and very nervous about re-establishing contact with his family.  But to their joy, he plucked up the courage to phone his mother and has been welcomed home with open arms.

“It was lovely to see him get off that train a week ago,” said Diana.  “He’d lost a lot of weight but he’s still the same old Alex.  He’s been staying with us and everything is going fine.  We are so happy to have found him again.”

So far, Alex has not said much about what caused him to lose touch with his family.

“All he has said is that he suffered a nervous breakdown after his father died and couldn’t cope,” added Diana.  “He said he did not want to see us again until he was up to scratch.  Thank God we started looking for him or we might never have seen him again.”

Alex has now decided to try and move back to Maidenhead provided he can get a flat. But whatever happens, the family have promised him the best Christmas he has had in years.

“He’s coming and we’ll all be together again,” said his mother.  Thank you so much for finding him for us.”