Missing man’s family appeal for information

Brian Reading, of Cape Road, Warwick, was last seen visiting a friend in St John’s in Warwick on Saturday July 21, which was his birthday.

The 43-year-old left to walk home at around 4pm and was last seen between 5pm and 7pm in Cemetery Lane but there have been no sightings since. Friends describe him as somebody who does not usually travel outside Warwick.

Mr Reading suffers from diabetes for which he takes medication every day.

A police search of his home revealed he had not taken his medication or his mobile phone.

Mr Reading’s brother Graham Turner said no money had been withdrawn from his missing sibling’s bank account since the time he had gone missing.

The family have checked a house where Mr Reading had lived with his late grandmother, in case he had been staying there, but the address now has new occupiers.

They also believe he is most likely to be spotted near the cemetery in Birmingham Road, Warwick, where his grandparents are both buried.

Jeanette Turner, Mr Reading’s sister-in-law, said: “It’s hard at the moment because we don’t know if he is still alive.”

Police using dogs have searched the area around the cemetery, the towpath along the Grand Union Canal, Priory Park, St Nicholas Park.

A search has also been carried out on open land behind the Saxon Mill on Coventry Road.

Det Insp Sue Taylor, who is co-ordinating the search for Mr Reading, said: “We are extremely concerned for the welfare of Brian Reading. We know that he rarely travels outside Warwick, and so we are concentrating our search within the town.

“The fact that he does not appear to have any medication with him is of particular concern.”

Police are extremely concerned for his welfare because he has failed to make contact with any of his friends, and has not texted his relatives, both of which are out of character.

He is 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build, with a shaved head.

His normal clothing consists of blue jeans and a black jacket.

He has distinctive tattoos around his neck, one of which is of a scratch mark as if it was caused by a tiger’s claw.

Despite extensive searches by friends and the police of areas Mr Reading is known to frequent, including the canal towpath through Warwick and St Nicholas Park and Priory Park, there has been no trace of him.

Anyone who knows Mr Reading and has information about where he is or has seen him in recent days should contact Det Insp Taylor in the local investigation team at Leamington on 684070.