The family of a mum who disappeared 13 years ago have joined a charity’s festive campaign.

Missing People held a Home for Christmas exhibition in London which formed part of Home for Christmas Appeal which aims to raise £20,000 this year.

Among those featured was Becky Carr, who was 22 when she vanished after being dropped off by her grandparents near Gillingham railway station.

As Lynne Simmonds approaches the prospect of another Christmas without her eldest daughter, all she wants now is closure.

Mrs Simmonds, 56, of Bingham Road, Frindsbury, has faced the stark reality that Becky is probably dead, but she still yearns for information.

Mrs Simmonds and younger daughter Laura, 28, have gained massive support over the years from the Missing People charity and have agreed to take part in the appeal at this time of the year.

The close-knit family are determined to get together to make the most of this Christmas with Becky’s son, A-level student Tyler, 17, and Laura’s little boy Tommy, two.

Mrs Simmonds said: We have to move on as a family and I love Christmas.

“I am a sociable person, but for a year I did not go out after Becky disappeared. I stayed in with the curtains closed. I hated answering the phone.

“When I did get the courage to go out people would stop and say ‘any news about Becky?’ – and it would bring it all back to me.

“Others would be thinking ‘what is she doing going out when her daughter is missing?’

“We don’t have a graveyard or memorial to go to, but I really want her remains to be found so we can place them in a resting place.”

The family still light candles at various anniversaries like Becky’s birthday in June and Tyler, who was only four at the time, lets off balloons.

Mrs Simmonds,who works as a delivery driver, said: “He can remember his mum and for a while, he thought he has done something wrong to make her go away.”

Laura, who lives with long-term partner Tom, in Strodes Close, Strood, still holds on to a glimmer of hope about her sister’s whereabouts.

Laura was just 14 when Becky vanished.

She said: “I have had a couple of psychic readings, one recently. And both found a connection with her being in Norwich where I have an aunt and uncle.

“But the police think she is dead and if we went to them with this after all these years they would think we were mad.”

Mrs Simmonds last saw Becky two days before she disappeared on November 25, 2002, when she dropped in to pick up her son.

She said: “She seemed her happy, normal self. I would often not hear from her for days. After all, in those days she did not have a mobile phone, so there were not the calls and texts that you would expect today.

“All I want now is somewhere to go so we can remember her. We don’t have anywhere as we still have no idea what happened to her.”

Missing People chief executive Jo Youle said: ‘For the families of missing people, the thought of Christmas without their loved one is heart-breaking.

“This exhibition will give the public the opportunity to stand with these families missing a loved one, by sharing messages of hope and supporting our annual Home for Christmas Appeal so Missing People can continue to be a lifeline when someone disappears.”

n The Home for Christmas exhibition was supported by the Big Lottery Fund