THE son of a 79-year-old missing man who went missing in Chadderton has spoken of how his family have become very worried about his father's disappearance.

Michael Holland was last seen just before 1pm on Saturday on Long Lane as he went out for his daily walk.

Now, his son Paul Holland has spoken of the concern he and his family have been going through over the past week.

Paul said: "He's always going out on walks, it's totally out of character for him to have gone missing.

"It was a busy day, you can't just disappear like that."

He described his father as a "fairly quiet man" who loves his children, grandchildren and animals.

Paul, 51, has been searching for his father along with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers over the past few days.

There has been an outpouring of support from the community for Mr Holland and his family, with the appeal from Paul shared thousands of times online.

Paul and his family have said Michael can "get confused" at times, which he said could be linked to possible early stages of dementia.

Despite sometimes struggling to process things, Paul, who lives in Saddleworth, said his father his mentally sound most of the time.

He explained how his father's walks usually last an hour, however the family grew concerned when he did not return after several hours.

Paul said: "My mum phoned me at 5pm, after he had been out for four hours.

"We started to get really worried when it was getting dark."

He said how Michael often likes to walk along the canals.

The Oldham Times: The last known sighting of MichaelThe last known sighting of Michael

Michael was last seen wearing a dark grey hoodie and blue trousers as he was using a wooden walking stick.

He is described as white male, 5ft 9, with grey hair and a stocky build.

On Wednesday, CCTV images, which show Michael's last known movements, were shared by police.

Anyone with information about Michaels’s whereabouts should contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency quoting log 2,654 of March 26.