Ben Garland's father sheds a tear every night for missing son

Ben Garland went missing on 21 January 2020 and is thought to have been swept out to sea off the northern coast of Ibiza

The father of a 24-year-old man who is thought to have died after being swept out to sea two years ago, said he was struggling daily with the loss.

Ben Garland, from Southwick, Wiltshire, went missing off the coast of northern Ibiza in January 2020.

He had been taking photographs during a storm and despite extensive searches, his body has yet to be found.

"It's been an absolute nightmare. I lay here every night and I shed a tear for Ben," his father Mark said.

Mark Garland said he would ensure his son's memory lived on

Ben had been working in Ibiza and on the day he went missing took a motorcycle ride to Portinatx, where he climbed some rocks to film the waves.

His father said he believed a rogue wave came up over the rocks and swept Ben out to sea.

"He was posting videos on Instagram and the sea was very rough.

"Three days into the search they did find Ben's jacket with his ID about 300 metres out to sea to the right of where he had been standing."

Mr Garland found Ben's watch with a damaged strap during a search of the area.

Ben's watch was found close to where he made his last Instagram video

He took his motorcycle to Portinatx on 21 January 2020 to take photographs as Storm Gloria swept across Ibiza

"The search has been going on ever since, but obviously it's been scaled back.

"We all struggle daily.

"I have photos in my bedroom and all over the house so there's reminders every day and I will make sure that Ben's memory lives on," he added.

Mr Garland said he had planned to be in Ibiza for the two-year anniversary but the pandemic had made travelling complicated, so instead he planned to spend the day with his family at home.

"We'll light a candle for Ben and keep it low key.

"We've set up a 'Light up for Ben' Facebook page so people can light a candle and put a story up of their memories of Ben."

A motorcycle ride held in Ben's honour last year called Ride to the Tide raised more than £1,000 for the RNLI and will take place this year on 20 August.