THE family of a missing firefighter are raising money to support his fiancee and hire a private detective.

Anthony Knott, 33, went missing in Lewes on December 20, sparking a major public appeal to trace his movements.

The father of four disappeared after leaving his friends.

CCTV footage apparently shows him walking past the Elephant and Castle pub in White Hill.

The search for Anthony has now been called off but an investigation into his disappearance continues.

So far, more than £5,000 has been raised for his fiancee Lucy Otto.

A fundraiser, set up by his family, has received donations from more than 300 people. The family posted: “We’re raising £1,000 to help to financially support Lucy and her children during this difficult time.

“We have been searching for him with desperation ever since.

“Anthony has left behind his wonderful fiancee Lucy and his four children.

“They relied on his income to support their family. Lucy has a small part-time job which only brings in very little money and of course now her main priority is to find Anthony.

“We want to raise enough money to be able to help her pay her living costs, rent, bills, groceries and fund petrol for the ample amount of journeys to and from Lewes.

“We want to make sure that a roof is over Lucy and her children’s heads without the worry of getting into any financial difficulty.”

The fundraiser, which has been set up on the JustGiving website, also says money could go to hire a private investigator to assist the search.

The family added: “Depending on how much is raised and once bills are covered for at least the next few months, we would also like to try and fund a private investigator to help find Anthony.

“Please if you can donate anything at all we would be incredibly grateful and will take a huge weight off Lucy’s shoulders

“Thank you for your continued support.”

A major search was conducted along the River Ouse by the Coastguard and fire brigade crews and also around the Pells Pool area in Lewes. Police fear Anthony may have come to harm, while his family said they are “thinking the worst”.

Ms Otto said she had plans to see him the next day.

Police released new CCTV footage showing a man believed to be Anthony walking along White Hill, opposite the Elephant and Castle pub, shortly after he left his friends.

The same man is then spotted at 7.37pm walking back towards Market Street. He then walks back up Market Street towards The Lamb pub at 7.41pm.

Anthony is 5ft 8in and was wearing a black long-sleeved top, dark denim coat, dark denim jeans and black shoes.

Friend Steve Shepherd said Anthony had told his fiancee he would be home by 2am and they had made plans to meet on Saturday.

Steve told Sky news: “He was happy ... home life, friends, family. I spoke to him on the Thursday, we were going for a drink on the Saturday. It’s just unusual. He’s vanished and we don’t know where.”