Darren Kay: Fell runner goes missing on holiday in Madeira

Darren Kay, 52, has been competing in fell runs since 2004

A British man has gone missing while out running by himself on the island of Madeira, his family has said.

Fell runner Darren Kay, 52, was on holiday with his partner in the town of Calheta when the couple went on a two-hour run together on Sunday.

Mr Kay, from Sedbergh in Cumbria, decided to carry on by himself but never returned, his brother said.

Jonny Kay said his family were very worried and were flying to the island to assist with the search.

Mr Kay had told his partner he would carry on running alone for another 30 minutes but has not been seen since.

"She was just waiting for him and he didn't come back," Mr Kay's brother said.

Mr Kay's partner reported him missing to the local police and believed a land and sea search was being carried out.

Madeira is a mountainous island off the North African coast

The family did not have much information but understood windy weather conditions and high tides had prevented searches in some areas, Mr Kay's brother added.

He said he hoped to encourage people on the island to join the search but did not know "how realistic that is".

He added: "We would urge any local resident or tourist who saw Darren running alone on Sunday afternoon to come forward to the police so his last location can be pinpointed."

Mr Kay, who is originally from Bolton, has been running for nearly 20 years and is well known within the fell running community.

He and his partner were "serious" about the sport and Mr Kay had competed for England and runs with Calder Valley Fell Runners, his brother said.

The couple were staying in Calheta

Mr Kay's parents travelled out to the Portuguese island on Monday but his brother had to wait for a flight from Manchester on Tuesday that was delayed by the weather.

"That's the frustration of being sat here all day because it's a day wasted when we could have been looking," he said.