Family appeals for help in search for student

The family of Aryan Sharma have appealed for help in finding him

The family of a missing student have said they are "devastated" and "just want him to be OK".

Leicestershire Police said Aryan Sharma, 20, was last seen on CCTV at about 00:30 GMT on Saturday in Meadow Lane, walking towards Stanford-on-Soar just outside Loughborough.

The force described Aryan - a student at Loughborough University - as Asian, 5ft 5in (165cm), of a slim build with collar-length black hair. He was wearing a black trench coat, shorts and black trainers with a white trim.

Jagi Sawhney, Aryan's cousin, speaking on behalf of the family, said: "Please help locate him. He's loved by everyone in this family, and we just want him home safely."

Officers said they were searching the Loughborough and Stanford-on-Soar area and conducting significant inquiries to locate him, including the assistance of the National Police Air Service (NPAS).

'How loved he is'

Ms Sawhney said: "We are devastated as a family. We just want to find him safe. He's loved by this family. He is an older brother, he's a cousin, he's one of the five boys of this family.

"Our biggest concern now is that no-one in the family has spoken to him since at least Friday.

"It's been really cold since he has been missing, and we haven't been able to get in contact with him.

"We just want him to be OK, and we want him to come home to his mum."

Det Insp Jonathan Dickens urged the public to contact the force with any information "no matter how insignificant", to help find Aryan.

Ms Sawhney added: "If Aryan sees this, we want him to know how loved he is.

"We want him to know how much we all just want him to come home. He is a loved grandson, son and uncle. Everyone is rallying around to try and find him."