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The family of a firefighter who disappeared in the run-up to Christmas said the search for him has been “called off” in a heartbreaking update.

Anthony Knott, a 33-year-old father-of-four from Orpington in Kent, disappeared on December 20 after an evening with friends at a pub in Lewes, East Sussex.

He left The Lamb pub in Fisher Street at around 7.16pm for unknown reasons and was captured on CCTV approximately half an hour later walking nearby .

Police began scouring the area around where he was last seen but admitted they had “no indication where he went on the night”.

Yesterday, his devastated family issued a statement saying physical searches for Mr Knott had ended as “all areas have been covered three times over.”

However, they added: “We are not giving up, we just need time to let Anthony’s disappearance sink in and try and focus on a new channel of how to find him.”

In a statement posted on Facebook titled ‘Please Read. Anthony Knott still missing’, they wrote: “Thank you for all the shares on social media & for any info passed on to us and the police.

“Search and Rescue and the police have now called off their physical searches, however the police will be continuing their investigations.

"Police presence will be still seen. We too have called off any further searches for now as all areas have been covered three times over.

"Can we please ask to respect the privacy of Lucy and our family at this difficult time. We want to all spend some time with our children, which we haven’t been able to do for the last 11 days."

The statement went on to thank the public for their support, but said “speculations were not helping” investigations.

"In a couple of days we will go back to the drawing board to look at what we need to do next,” it continued.

"Any actual information/CCTV please get in touch with us or call 101 quoting Operation Barnstable. Any emergency situations please call 999. Please do not post speculation over social media, please contact us and the police.”

A statement issued by Sussex Police on Tuesday confirmed the investigation into the disappearance continues.

It read: "We continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Anthony Knott with a huge amount of work to locate him having taken place.

"Foot searches in the area of the Pells, Lewes have been exhausted following an extensive and thorough search led by specialist search advisors.

"Further specialist search tactics may take place in the next few days and the investigation continues."