POLICE have thanked a Grays couple who helped them locate a missing man.

An urgent appeal for help to find missing Alan Whitley, 75, was made yesterday (Monday, 5 July).

We'd like to thank members of the public for their help in sharing our appeal to find missing man Alan Whitley, who has now been found.

The 75-year-old was reported missing from Grays yesterday afternoon, Monday 5 July.

The appeal was shared widely and Alan was found this morning, Tuesday 6 July, by local residents Jessica Cotton and David Fraser.

Jessica, who had seen the appeal on a local community Facebook page, saw him through their kitchen window on the fifth floor of their block of flats.

"The only reason I noticed him was because of the social media post yesterday afternoon," she said.

"I wouldn't have thought anything of it otherwise.

"Luckily there were two police officers who attended very quickly.

"They were out on foot patrols looking for him and it just so happened we found him before they did.

"It was just nice to find him and know he was safe."

A police statement said: "Our heartfelt thanks to Jessica and David for their help, and to everyone who assisted with our search, including other agencies."