A GRANDFATHER who went missing in Stockton in December is still being sought by police two months on.

David Welsh, 61, was last seen walking past the Castlegate Shopping Centre car park on Tower Street, Stockton, shortly before 8pm on Tuesday, December 8, in the direction of Riverside Road.

Mr Welsh had been struggling to cope with the death of his wife Sheila of cancer in 2013, and his daughter's sudden death in a car crash in 2008.

Two months on, police are appealing again for the public to get in touch with information.

Before his last sighting, on CCTV on Tower Street, he visited the Royal Oak Public House and the Don Bar on Silver Street.

Officers have scoured hours of CCTV footage, spoken with local businesses and hotels where he could have visited, and posters displaying his picture have been handed out in the area where he was last seen, to jog the memory of any potential witnesses.

Harbour Police and police divers have been checking the Tees over the last two weeks.

Detective Inspector Glen Westmoreland said: “We have carried out a large number of inquiries following the disappearance of David Welsh, including searches on land and in the River Tees.

"Further searches of the River Tees have been carried out in the last two weeks, including using specialist sonar equipment and police dogs along with police divers.”

Police are trying to trace two people who could help with inquiries, after further CCTV footage showed that at 8.05pm on Tuesday, December 8 a figure could be seen standing by the river at the back of the Grosvenor Casino on Moat Street, Chandlers Wharf. Police believe the figure could be David.

As the figure stands there, two people walk by in the direction of Castlegate Quay and officers have not yet traced the pair.

David is described as a white male, around 5ft 8ins tall, of slim build and with short, grey hair. He was wearing light coloured jeans and a black waterproof jacket when he went missing.

*Anyone with information should contact Cleveland Police on 101.