Brother of missing Anthony Stammers desperate for news 10 years on

Mr Stammers is raising money and awareness by running 100 miles from Kingston-Upon-Thames to Colchester

The brother of a man who has been missing for nearly 10 years said it would "mean everything" to his family to know he was OK.

Anthony Stammers, who would now be 37, was last seen on 27 May 2012 at his parents' house in Colchester, Essex.

James Stammers, who lives in Bristol, described the weeks following his brother's disappearance as a sequence of "confusion, panic and concern".

He said if his brother came home he would be welcomed "with open arms".

Anthony went missing on the day of his grandad's funeral after saying he was going to the shops.

Mr Stammers, 40, said the family "tried to make sense of things" but as the days went by "panic set in a bit".

"Then days turn to weeks and real panic set in and weeks turn into months and that's when things become incredibly concerning," he added.

Mr Stammers (left) said Anthony (right), who had a really good relationship with his family, had been managing a "bit of depression"

Mr Stammers described his brother as "completely unique".

"He was very emotionally mature from a young age, with an eclectic taste in film and music.

"When I was young I was trying to fit in but he… lived life by his own sheet of music and was very respected for it," he added.

He wants Anthony to know that whatever he has gone through, every one of his friends and family "love him and miss him massively".

'No trace'

"When someone goes missing it's not the same as when you're forced to deal with death."

He said he processed his brother's disappearance "quite rationally", by thinking "it's difficult to be dead and not found".

Cathy Stammers said she had desperately wanted to talk to Anthony every day since his disappearance

But he also thought Anthony could "ensure there are no crumbs, no trace" if he really wanted to go missing.

He said his family had been unsure about drawing too much attention at first, concerned they could "create something that would push him further away".

• Someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK

• 170,000 people are reported missing every year

• There are 353,000 reported missing incidents every year

Mr Stammers said one of the hardest things about his brother's disappearance was seeing the impact it had on his parents.

Julie and Rob Stammers said they regularly dropped off leaflets about Anthony whenever they went away, or visited churches or libraries

He said he had learned to support them and had become "less selfish".

"There's an element of learned patience, knowing when my mum calls she just wants to communicate."

He added: "You learn to understand and see your parents in a different way than you would do if you hadn't gone through something like this."

James Stammers (right) said Anthony (left) was "the happy medium between me and my sister Cathy who was able to get on with anyone"

Mr Stammers, a gym owner and personal trainer, recently took part in season seven of Channel 4 programme SAS: Who Dares Wins in the Jordanian desert.

He signed up hoping he could use the challenge to shine a light on Anthony, encouraging him or anyone who had any information to come forward.

However he left the show in the third week.

Now he is preparing to complete a 100 mile (160.9km) ultra-run from Kingston-Upon-Thames to Colchester in 24 hours.

He is fundraising through JustGiving for Missing People UK and hopes that somehow his brother hears about it.

He plans to finish the run alongside his parents, Julie and Rob Stammers, and sister Cathy, who are completing 5km a day for 10 days.

'Open arms'

He asked Anthony to reach out if he can through Missing People UK or Essex Police, even if it is anonymously, to let them know he is well.

He added: "We all want to know he's happy and healthy… and second to that, if he feels ready to chat, we'll welcome him with open arms and would dearly love him to be back with us."

Essex Police said anyone with information about Anthony's disappearance could submit a report online or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm.

They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously.