THE sister of a man who has been missing from his North-East home for more than three years said last night that she has still not given up hope that he is still alive.

Ex-miner Edward Donnelly has not been seen since March 2002 and today police will complete an extensive search of areas surrounding his home village of Sacriston, near Chester-le-Street.

Last night, his sister Kathleen Gault, 70, who lives near his old house on Fynway, said she hope to see him again.

She said: "I still hope that he is out there - somewhere. None of his family have given up hope. It has been awful since he disappeared. It might be easier if we knew one way or the other whether he is okay."

Mr Donnelly, who worked at Sacriston Pit and would now be 57. He did not drink but enjoyed a smoke, reading and walking in the Durham and Chester-le-Street area.

Mrs Gault last saw him a few days before he mysteriously vanished.

She said: "He didn't say anything was wrong and if he had I would have tried to help with whatever it was. He wasn't the sort to just move without telling us. That would be completely out of character. I can't think of him doing anything to himself."

The mystery deepened earlier this year when detectives leading the inquiry into Mr Donnelly's disappearance arrested 49-year-old John Robert Pounder on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and searched his home in Elm Court in the village.

Less than a month later, Mr Pounder was found dead at his home. There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Watson, the officer leading the inquiry, admitted that it looked increasingly unlikely that Mr Donnelly would be found alive.

The sites being searched include a number of abandoned mine workings, among them a location three miles away from Sacriston, near the village of Plawsworth, close to where Mr Donnelly was last seen alive. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 0845 6060365 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.