Andrew Hoy was last seen by his family on 22 November when he told them he was going to Portsmouth to sort out his problems.

His car was discovered two days later in a quiet residential street in Salisbury, Wiltshire. In the boot was a bag containing the 31-year-old businessman's blood-stained clothes.

Detective Inspector Sid Kimber said Mr Hoy had links with drugs gangs and owed £20,000 to an underworld associate.

Death threats

Wiltshire police also discovered an imitation pistol hidden in his red, two-door BMW 3-Series.

He had received death threats in the weeks before his disappearance and had moved his wife and daughters out of their home in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, and into a hotel in Suffolk for their own safety.

Mr Hoy's wife and his daughters, aged six and nine, are under police guard at a secret location as the hunt for him goes on.

'Serious trouble'

Mr Hoy, who had told his wife he was in "serious trouble", is known to have been contacted on the night of 22 November from a telephone kiosk in Swanwick, near Southampton.

On Monday his car was parked at the same spot in Highlands Road, Salisbury in a bid to jog memories.

Det Insp Kimber said he was almost certain Mr Hoy had spent Sunday and Monday nights in the Southampton, Portsmouth and Salisbury area.

He urged anyone who had seen the red BMW - registration number P870 HVW - on 22, 23 or 24 November to contact the incident room on 01722 411444.