Two men have been charged in relation to the murder of a father who went missing in January.

Daniel Alexander, 61, of no fixed address, is alleged to have murdered 42-year-old garage boss Gary Hampson.

He has also been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, robbery and attempted robbery, relating to incidents in Brighton on January 19 and 21, and grievous bodily harm (GBH).

Roy Bartup, 67, of Natal Road, Brighton, has also been charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The charges were approved by the Crown Prosecution Service following a series of consultations with the investigating officers.

Both men will appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court this morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Riley, from Sussex Police Major Crime Branch, who is leading the inquiry, revealed that a scoping exercise will begin today with specialist search adviser colleagues in a bid to locate Mr Hampson.

He said: “We are working with search advisers to consider a search for a body and are currently focusing our attention on the A23 corridor.”

Anyone with information about Mr Hampson's disappearance which may help detectives with their inquiries is asked to contact Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999 quoting Operation Jubilee.