The sister of a schoolboy who went missing more than 25 years ago has said she will never give up hope of finding him.

Kevin Hicks was 16 when he was last seen leaving the family home in Sissinghurst Road, Addiscombe, on Sunday, March 2 in 1986.

The John Ruskin School pupil had left with a pound to buy eggs at a shop less than 250 yards away, but never returned having left his keys and bike behind.

His mum and dad never gave up hope, appealing for information about Kevin up until their deaths in 1994 and 2004 respectively.

A police investigation, door-to-door enquiries, widespread searches of the area, and an appeal on Crimewatch failed to generate any solid leads leaving his family clueless as to what had happened to him.

Since their deaths his sister Alex, 41, has taken over the search. She believes her brother is alive and well and may even have attended his mother's funeral.

Now she is participating in a charity run to mark 27 years since his disappearance and to help keep the search alive.

She said: "After the funeral my dad and I went back to the church to collect cards and for some reason we noticed there were an extra bunch of flowers. To this day I think they were left there by Kevin, he was very close to mum.

"The church was packed and there were people outside the church, if Kevin was there no-one would have known. He could have had a hat or disguise."

Ms Hicks, a mum-of-two said it had been difficult since Kevin's disappearance, but she believes he is abroad working with the army.

As a volunteer family representative for Missing People, Ms Hicks helps to support families whose loved ones have disappeared.

On May 25, she will run 3k with her daughters Faye, 22, and Amy, 19, at the charity's Miles for Missing People event.

Ms Hicks hopes to raise over £500 for the charity, but says her participation is also in honour of Kevin, who would turn 43 on February 9.

She added: "If Kevin gets to see this I want him to know I am not angry with him, but it would be nice to see him face to face. If he doesn't want to tell me where he went that's fine, I just want my brother back.

"I have no answers and I can't grieve because there is nothing to grieve for."

To sponsor Alex visit justgiving.com/Alexandra-Hicks