A MAJOR seach was launched after an elderly man went missing following a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum on Thursday.

Police were drafted in from other areas to scour fields and gardens in the area, including Prince Charles's Highgrove estate near Tetbury, during the early hours.

The man from Warwickshire, who had been staying in Crudwell, was found in the Avon and Somerset area at 7am on Friday morning.

A helicopter was seen circling area late on Thursday night and at 2.30am a neighbour woke to find police in his garden.

The man, whose does not want to be named, said: "I saw lights and heard talking, so I got up to see what it was. "At first I thought it might be burglars, but when I looked outside it was the police. I went out just to check what was going on and they said they were looking for someone."

Officers began searching after a call was made to Gloucestershire Police at 8.30pm by his worried family.