Two years on from the disappearance of Sarah Wellgreen, her mother has described how she continues to live in the shadow of her loss.

Mum-of-five Sarah, 46, vanished from her New Ash Green home overnight between October 9 and 10, 2018, and while her body has never been found her former partner Ben Lacomba was found guilty of her murder and jailed for 27 years in November last year.

Sarah Wellgreen: Two years on

Today marks the second anniversary of her disappearance, in a week that also brought news the active police search for Sarah had been brought to an end.

But her mother Anne Reid said the family would never be able to move on until she was found.

"Some days are a real struggle," she said. "I find it hard to believe that Sarah has not been found as he's not that clever and every time the phone rings my heart lurches as I think 'is this the call?'

"All the children miss their mother desperately."

Mrs Reid has also had to take responsibility for looking after her own mother's affairs, as she collapsed just prior to the verdict and had to be moved from her home in Spain to England. But the children have remained the focus of her life.

"Christmas and birthdays without Sarah for me are empty and meaningless but we carry on as ultimately Christmas is a celebration for children anyway and we make sure they have a good one," she said. "Life has been one long succession of children's hearings and arrangements.

"There's been so much going on in the background and so much is still unresolved.

"We just want to get closure and to get Sarah's death certificate."

As for the anniversary, Mrs Reid said the family planned to mark the day in reflection, adding: "We will light a candle for Sarah and remember the vibrant beautiful woman she was and how lucky we were to have her in our lives."

Although the official active search for Sarah has been brought to an end, Mrs Reid thanked both the police and public search teams for their "amazing" work.

And meanwhile the Search for Sarah Wellgreen community group said they would never stop their efforts.

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