CONCERN is growing for a 50-year-old businessman whose car was found abandoned near a cliff.

Paul Warren was last seen around noon on Friday. He did not turn up at the bookmakers he runs in Canterbury on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and has not been in touch with family or friends.

The alarm was raised after a car park attendant at the Cliffe Top Cafe at Capel Le Ferne noticed a blue Mercedes had been left all day and late into the evening. It has since been moved by Folkestone police.

Kent Police, coastguard teams from Folkestone, Deal and Langdon, an RAF rescue helicopter and Dover RNLI lifeboat searched Capel, Folkestone Warren and nearby campsites on Saturday morning to no avail.

Mr Warren’s brother and business partner Lindsay Warren travelled from his home in Hertfordshire to Folkestone at the weekend.

He has put 50 posters up around Folkestone and Capel Le Ferne appealing for anyone who sees the missing man to get in touch.

Mr Warren, who lives at Westgate, had been staying at a hotel in Cliftonville for about 10 days before he went missing. The businessman is separated and has a grown-up daughter who lives in Hertfordshire.

His brother said: "We thought he might have just left his car all day and maybe slept in it Friday night as it was locked in the car park. But his phone is dead and he hasn’t been in contact with anyone.

"He had things on his mind and was a bit down, but he didn’t seem depressed.

"There is a man who might have seen my brother on Saturday morning, but we don’t know for sure."

Mr Warren runs Bunny’s Bookmakers in Sturry Road, Canterbury. His brother is a silent partner. The missing man phoned his shop at 1pm on Friday to say he would be there at 6pm but failed to turn up.

Sgt Simon Young, of South East Kent Police said: "We are concerned for Mr Warren especially as no one has heard from him since Friday (Aug 19). I would urge anyone who may have seen a man matching his description in the Capel Le Ferne area to contact the police."

Mr Warren is 5ft10in tall, stocky with short black greying hair that he wears in a swept back style. He has also been known to wear glasses.

Anyone with information is asked to contact South East Kent Police on 01303 289377.