A MUM has made a heartfelt appeal to her son to come home on the first anniversary of his disappearance.

James Hodgkiss, aged 35, was last seen at 11am on August 3 last year in Weston Street, in Great Lever.

He was seen wheeling a black hand-luggage bag and heading towards Bolton town centre.

Police launched a number of appeals and have searched a number of areas, but Mr Hodgkiss has not been since.

His mum has made a new appeal to him to come home and also to anyone who has seen him or with information to get in touch.

She said: "There is a place in my heart that believes he is still out there.

"Wherever you are, please get in touch if you can, please. The door will always be open and we love you very much."

She said: "I picked him up near Bolton and dropped him off at his dad's. It was really early morning on August 2.

"That was the last time I saw him. From there he stayed at his dad's and he dropped him off again just outside Bolton, round about ten o'clock on the second.

"I said goodnight to him at his dad's and I never saw him again. It never entered my head at that point that I would never ever see him again."

A number of sightings of James have been reported in the year since but he has still not been found.

Mother of missing man appeals for him to come before his 35th birthday

Mrs Hodgkiss said: "It has been the worst year of my life and I'm sure his dad's life and the children and Jenny (ex-partner) even though they had separated.

"It has just hit everyone, his friends, everyone really. But for the kids, it's unbelievable it really is.

"It has been horrendous, really really horrendous."

Mr Hodgkiss has three children, aged 11, 13 and 16 and he has missed significant milestones in all of their lives, as well as his own 35th birthday during the past year.

He missed his youngest child going to secondary school, his middle child turning 13 and his oldest turning 16.

Mrs Hodgkiss said: "He loved his kids. This is what I can't understand, you see?

"His kids, they were everything to him. He wouldn't leave his kids. He wouldn't leave his children."

James is described as white, 6ft 2 inches tall, slim with short dark hair, stubble and blue eyes.

When he was last seen he was wearing dark blue tracksuit bottoms, dark Nike t-shirt, black and white trainers and a dark coat.

Mr Hodgkiss was living in Blackrod with his father at the time of his disappearance and has links to the Crown Lane area of Horwich and Little Hulton.

Since he was reported missing last year a number of searches have been carried out. The first covered a 300-metre area around Weston Street and Bradford Reservoir.

The Bolton News:

A further three searches in the Breightmet area were conducted following potential sightings of someone matching his description and in addition to the searches, financial, CCTV and social media inquiries were undertaken, as well as leaflet drops and door-to-door inquiries across the Bolton area.

Officers have been working with British Transport Police, local homeless shelters, and health services as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 5761.