Twitter hunt for Brighton pensioner Nellie Herriott gathers pace (From The Argus)

Twitter hunt for Brighton pensioner Nellie Herriott gathers pace

10:06am Monday 30th April 2012 in Video News

WITH VIDEO: Lord Alan Sugar and Sarah Brown have joined the search for missing Brighton pensioner Nellie Herriott.

Police have now released new CCTV image of the missing 96-year-old lunching at the BHS cafe in Churchill Square, where she was a regular.

They have also released footage of her boarding the 1A bus to Whitehawk in Churchill Square on Monday, April 23.

And they have also reported a confirmed sighting of her on Tuesday, April 24.

Meanwhile, dozens of people have been urging people to keep an eye out for her on Twitter, using the hashtag #findnellie.

As well as Lord Sugar and Mrs Brown, Brighton and Hove City Council chief executive John Barradell and talkSPORT newsreader Robyn Schonhofer have retweeted the appeal.

This morning, Brighton police Detective Constable Suzy MacClintock also said they had received "loads" of calls overnight, but sadly none had resulted in a solid lead.

She had been seen leaving the BHS cafe at about 2.25pm on Monday, April 23, and someone who knows her has now come forward in response to publicity to say they saw her on a bus in London Road, Brighton, going towards the city centre, at about 12.30pm on the following day, Tuesday 24 April.

There is increasing concern for Nellie, who lives on her own in central Brighton, and is described as white, of thin build, 4ft 9in tall, with short curly hair.

She was wearing a blue coat, a black hat, pale coloured trousers and shoes, and was carrying a beige coloured handbag. It is not known whether she had any money. Her bus pass has now been found in her flat.

The two new images are from BHS shop CCTV, showing Nellie in the BHS cafe on Saturday, April 21, two days before she was last seen, but they do show the clothing she was wearing when last seen.

Detective Constable Suzy MacLintock said; "Nellie has been a frequent visitor to the BHS Café in Churchill Square. She may have frequented other cafes, regularly uses buses in Brighton and Hove, and has travelled by bus as far as Eastbourne and Worthing in the past.

"Nellie is very vulnerable due to her age and the fact that she also suffers from Alzheimers which can cause her to become confused.

"It's been five days since she was last seen and despite widespread enquiries, including distribution of posters in the city, there have been no further sightings of her.

"We are very anxious to hear from anyone who thinks they may know where she is.

"These two latest images do give a very good indication of her fragility.

"We have already had many calls from people from people reporting possible sightings, though none have been confirmed.

"Many people are trying to help, and we are really grateful to everyone, but if anyone still thinks they have seen Nellie then please can they call us as soon as possible on 101, quoting reference number 1448 of 25 April."

Police added that a previously reported last sighting of Nellie waiting for a bus in Race Hill on the morning of Monday, April 23 is now being treated as mistaken.