A MAN who formerly lived in Salisbury has been reported missing.

Edward Machin,39, who is also known as Ed, lived in Salisbury for a number of years before moving north and still has many friends in the city.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for anyone who knows of his whereabouts or has been in contact with Mr Machin to get in touch with them. Mr Machin was last seen in the village of Bempton near Bridlington after he was dropped off by a taxi on Thursday, January 23.

Insp Michelle Falkingham of York Police, said: “The longer Edward remains out of contact, the more concerned we are for his safety.

“While we are concentrating our searches in the area where he was last seen, we are also exploring the possibility that Edward may have travelled somewhere else. We know he has friends in the Salisbury area and we are appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard from Edward recently to contact us.

 Mr Machin's brother Ben added: “Ed is a genuine, kind and gentle person and is very considerate of other people. He would never do anything to put anyone out or let them down. It is completely alien to him, which is why his lack of contact and missing social events is so out of character.

“He is very conscientious and after an hour of him not turning up for work we knew immediately that something was wrong.”

Mr Machin is described as white, 5ft 4in tall, of slim build with dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. When he was last seen he was wearing a dark coloured jacket, a light shirt, jeans and brown shoes.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 01904 618691, select option 1 and pass information to the force control room. Confidential information can also be passed to the charity Missing People on 116 000