POLICE have responded to some criticism that a pensioner who went missing in Darlington should have been found sooner after early sightings of him were reported.

Archie Campbell was found at the foot of an embankment near the A66 at around 7pm on Thursday evening by Mountain Rescue volunteers.

The 82-year-old, who had been missing from his Parkside home for two days, appeared well but was taken to hospital as a precaution and was still under observation yesterday.

Following the news of his discovery, The Northern Echo was contacted by a man who said that he had told the police about an elderly man waking near The Northern Echo Area on Tuesday afternoon because he was concerned about his safety.

Another resident also took to social media to question why officers did not pick Mr Campbell up when she reported her concerns about him to police after spotting him on Tuesday walking near an A66 roundabout.

A Durham Police spokesman explained that at the time of the Tuesday sightings Mr Campbell had not been reported as missing.

Officers spoke to Mr Campbell at the time but he told them that he was well and was simply going for a walk.

As he had not been reported missing at that point, he was allowed to continue on his way.

The spokesman said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but presented with that information at that time, we could not have predicted that he would later come into the difficulty he did.”

He went on to thank the public for their ‘vital’ help in locating Mr Campbell.