Liam Hinchliffe was last seen at his home in Chantry Waters, Waterside Way, at about 7pm on Wednesday December 28. He was reported missing on Friday morning, when his family raised concerns after not having heard from him.

Officers are now linking his disappearance to an incident reported at 10.05pm on Wednesday by a member of the public, who was concerned after seeing a man matching Liam’s description acting erratically near to the river between The Hepworth gallery and Chantry Bridge.

Specialist resources from the police, fire and ambulance service were deployed to search the area but no-one was found. Further searches were carried out in daylight the following day. Today, officers from the Yorkshire & The Humber Marine and Underwater Search Unit have returned to the scene to carry out further searches along the River Calder.

Liam is described as slim with dark hair and a goatee beard and has full sleeve tattoos on his arms.

Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Dawson, of Wakefield District, said: “We remain very concerned for Liam’s welfare and are supporting his family while we continue to carry out extensive enquiries to find him.

“CCTV enquiries have shown Liam outside his home in Waterside Way at about 10pm on Wednesday and we believe the call we received shortly after that raising concerns for a man seen near to the river is likely to be linked.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen Liam in the area of the around that time, particularly anyone who was driving on the A61 Doncaster Road who may have relevant dashcam footage that could assist in tracing his movements.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wakefield District CID via 101 quoting log 362 of December 30 or online via the Live Chat.

Chantry Bridge Wakefield: Urgent appeal to find missing man Liam Hinchliffe as police search River Calder