Family of missing Worcester student cling to 'hope'

The family of a student who has been missing for almost a week said they have not lost hope he may be found.

Thomas Jones, 18, from Bromsgrove, has not been heard from since the early hours of Wednesday morning.

His parents said there had been a possible sighting of Thomas looking dazed and asking for directions to the city centre on Wednesday afternoon.

"We have to keep retracing his steps and ask people to dig deep in their memory banks" they said.

Two men arrested on suspicion of Mr Jones' murder were released without charge on Monday.

Speaking to BBC Hereford & Worcester on Tuesday, mother Vicki Jones said they are "no further forward" in knowing what happened to their son than they were a week ago.

"We are caught between trying to keep a sense of normality and the reality. It's very difficult", she said.

Thomas Jones' parents said they are 'going out of their minds' not knowing what has happened to their son

Father Ian Jones said one woman had seen the missing persons posters of their son and said they had seen him at around 14:20 BST on Wednesday.

"She said he had looked dazed and was asking for the city centre", Ian Jones added.

The couple said they had watched further CCTV footage on Tuesday and they were "80% certain" it was their son.

"He's just disappeared," they added.

"We're going out of our minds."

Mr Jones said the support from friends and strangers had been immense and they had to "dig deep" for their daughter Ellie.

Uncle Chris Rogers said the family had been through a "rollercoaster of emotions" and that there had been "plenty of tears".

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"Tom is a gentle boy, one of the loveliest you'd ever wish to meet," he said.

West Mercia Police is continuing to investigate several lines of inquiry relating to the last known movements of the University of Worcester student, who went missing on his first week at the university.

The force said it believed he had crossed the Sabrina footbridge, which crosses the River Severn near to Worcester Racecourse, and then walked on to the footpath that runs along the top of the flood defences in Hylton Road in the direction of Hallow, just before 03:50 BST.

Since Mr Jones' disappearance, more than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for CCTV to be placed along the River Severn in the city.

Mr Jones' uncle Chris Rogers, said the family feel like they're "back to square one" but they believe he still may be found.

Meanwhile, the university has extended a scheme which involves students being taken home for free by taxis in the early hours.

The scheme sees uniformed security staff directing students to taxis which take them back to campus from 01:30 BST to 3:30 BST every day.

'Deeply concerned'

The free taxi service has been run for a number of years during the one-week 'freshers' period, which concluded on Friday this year.

It will continue into this week to reassure students, the university said.

"Our whole university community is deeply concerned by Thomas' disappearance," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to do all we can to support students and staff affected by his disappearance and to work with his family and friends in every positive way."