‘We don’t know whether he is still alive’

Brian Reading, of Cape Road, was last seen visiting a friend in St John’s on Saturday July 21, which was his birthday.

The 43-year-old left to walk home at around 4pm and was last seen between 5pm and 7pm in Cemetery Lane but there have been no sightings since.

Friends have described him as somebody who does not usually travel outside Warwick. Mr Reading 
suffers from diabetes, for which he takes medication every day, but he has not taken his medication or his mobile phone.

Mr Reading’s brother Graham Turner said no money had been withdrawn from his sibling’s bank account since the time he had gone missing.

The family have checked a house where Mr Reading had lived with his late grandmother, in case he had been staying there, but the address now has new occupiers.

They also believe he is most likely to be spotted near the cemetery in Birmingham Road, Warwick, where his grandparents are both buried.

Jeanette Turner, Mr Reading’s sister-in-law, said: “It’s hard at the moment because we don’t know if he is still alive.”

Police have searched the area around the cemetery, the towpath along the Grand Union Canal, Priory Park and St Nicholas Park.

A search has also been carried out on open land behind the Saxon Mill in Coventry Road.

Det Insp Sue Taylor, who is co-ordinating the search, said: “We are extremely concerned for the welfare of Brian Reading.

“We know that he rarely travels outside Warwick, and so we are concentrating our search within the town.

“The fact that he does not appear to have any medication with him is of particular concern.”

Mr Reading is 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build, with a shaved head.

His normal clothing consists of blue jeans and a black jacket.

He has distinctive tattoos around his neck, one of which is of a scratch mark as if it was caused by a tiger’s claws.

n Anyone who has any information about Brian Reading can contact the police on 01926 684070.