Parents in desperate appeal to find University of Essex student son

Police divers have been combing a canal following the disappearance of an Essex University student who went missing after a night out with his dad.

Charley Gadd, 20, who lives in Colchester, hasn’t been seen since the early hours of Saturday morning after he left the Warehouse Project venue in Manchester.

In a statement, his dad Jolyon Gadd said that he was with his son during the evening and into the morning, and said they’d been having a “lovely time together”.

But at around 1.10am, he said that the film and media student “ran off” and had not been seen since despite his attempts to locate him

He added that his whole family was “extremely worried" for him.

Police divers dressed in scuba outfits were seen on part of Manchester’s canal network near the Lowery Hotel, in the Greengate area, as they continued their search.

Jolyon Gadd said: "We were out with Charley on Friday night and Saturday morning on the 11 December and had a lovely time together.

"We were near the Spar Store in St Mary’s Gate at around 1.10am when Charley ran off.

“We spent many hours then and later in the early hours looking for him before reporting him missing to the police around 11am.

“Charley is not familiar with Manchester and may have got lost and not been able to find his way back to his hotel.

"Charley is a very bright, warm, funny and loving man who everybody hugely enjoys being around.

"He is in the second year of a film and media degree course at the University of Essex in Colchester where he is well liked and flat shares with friends.

“We have heard nothing from him since he ran off and my wife and I and his brothers Bruno and Rufus are desperate for any news of him.

"We are obviously extremely worried.

"As we do not live in the area, we would ask local people and businesses to help us by looking in outbuilding, vehicles, bins, and anywhere else that Charley may have taken shelter to keep warm on Sat

"We really appreciate all the support and kind comments given by people on social media, and ask that you please keep this in the public eye locally until we find Charley.

“However, we would ask that our privacy also please be respected at this time."

A CCTV image of Charley, provided by police on Monday, showed him passing by the Royal Exchange Theatre, in Manchester’s retail district, at 1.15am.

He is described as a white male of skinny build, 5ft 9 inches, with mousy brown hair, wearing a red jacket and blue jeans.