AN elderly man suffering from dementia has been found and is now recovering in hospital.

Tom Bolton, 86, disappeared from his North Yorkshire home in the early hours of Saturday.

He was spotted on CCTV at about 4.15am, walking along Kent Road, Harrogate, away from his home address on Kent Rise, in the direction of Ripon Road.

His disappearance sparked a major alert with police issuing public appeals and his description in their efforts t locate him.

Dozens of police officers and search and rescue volunteers from the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue team searched for him in the Harrogate area, using specially-trained search dogs, CCTV and thermal imaging cameras. Gardens and outbuildings were also searched.

And the public got fully behind the search, with the police appeal for information to help find find him on Facebook being shared more than 6,000 times.

Mr Bolton was finally found at 9am on New Year's Day and was taken to hospital for checks while being re-united with his worried family.