THE family of missing Kent nursing student Louise Kerton have returned home from Germany vowing to continue their search for her.

They have been heartened a number of promising sightings of a woman answering Miss Kerton's description in Aachen.

But for the time being the plan is to leave the searching to the police.

If she is still missing after a few weeks' time, though, the family plan to return in greater numbers with friends, aunts and uncles.

Miss Kerton, 24, who is studying at Canterbury Christ Church University College, vanished on July 30 after being left at Aachen station by her fiance's mother.

Her family is concerned for her mental state and wellbeing. They say it is totally out of character for her not to contact the family.

A woman believed to be Miss Kerton, has been seen at hostels at other places that help the homeless. This has buoyed up the family.

But the woman's behaviour was considered worrying by Louise's family. "On one occasion she's alleged to have claimed she was Spanish and used a nickname. Another occasion she was Polish.

"On another occasion she used poor English. On another occasion staff thought she was dumb because she didn't speak," said her father Phil Kerton.

It is thought she might be hanging around with homeless people or people who knew how to get homeless benefits at hostels. But police have been hampered by the reluctance of possible witnesses to help.

Mr Kerton, 56, of New Ash Green, near Gravesend, said: "We just want to hear from her that she is okay and who she is with. We are disappointed that we didn't get to the end of the trail."

One possibility is she is living with a man. One of the sightings saw her arrive and leave with a man thought to be Polish although Mr Kerton said later reports had her on her own again though it is believed she had hung round with him for a while.

Mr Kerton thanked the many people in Britain who had said the family was in their prayers and those people in Germany and Belgium who had copied pictures of Miss Kerton to stick in shop windows.