No trace of missing sailor

Simon Parkes was last seen in Gibraltar in December 1986

Detectives searching a drain shaft in Gibraltar for clues to the disappearance of a British sailor missing for more than 17 years have found no sign of the teenager.

Simon Parkes from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, was a radio operator on HMS Illustrious when he vanished in the British colony in December 1986.

Then aged 18, the naval rating left his passport, belongings and Christmas presents on board the ship when he went to visit a number of bars. He never returned.

The police reopened their investigation into the case in 2001 when Mr Parkes' shipmate, Petty Officer Allan Grimson, was convicted of two murders.

'Other inquiries'

Since then officers from Hampshire Police, who investigated Grimson's murders, have travelled to Gibraltar on a number of occasions.

They have used specially-trained search dogs and dug up areas of garden near the South Barracks just outside Gibraltar Town, and land near the peninsula's cemetery.

This time, the team, along with officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police, searched a drainage shaft, but found no new evidence.

"We have now completed the search in Gibraltar," said Detective Inspector John Ashworth, of Hampshire Police.

"This was just one part of the investigation, there are other inquiries to pursue and the investigation into Simon's disappearance continues."