UK charity Missing People, which provides support to the families of those who are searching for a long-term missing person, has stressed that Christmas is a particularly difficult time of the year for those who are waiting for news of a loved one.

An article for the Huffington Post revealed that in the UK someone goes missing every 90 seconds. On average, that equates to 180,000 people reported missing each year, and while many are found quickly, around 3,600 stay missing for weeks or even longer.

Georgia Romeril, who works with the charity, told the news provider: “Any moment which involve families getting together draws attention to the fact that someone is not there.”

She explained that the lack of answers about what happened to that person is the hardest thing for families to deal with, because it means they’re unable to go through the grieving process.

“It is described as ‘ambiguous loss’ as the person is physically absent but psychologically present,” Ms Romeril said.

Families who want help to find a missing person in London could turn to a private detective if they can afford it once the police are unable to dedicate resources to the continuing search.

Throughout December, Deliveroo riders were helping Missing People to spread the word about some of the missing people the charity is hoping to reunite with their families. The Ride to Find campaign saw 500 drivers sporting missing people posters on their backpacks as they delivered food around London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.