The parents of a missing 23-year-old British backpacker, last seen at an 'eco hotel' in Guatemala, have recorded a heartfelt message asking for help in finding her.

Catherine Shaw was last seen leaving the hotel at around 1.30am on March 5 in the San Pedro, Lake Atitlan area while carrying a musical instrument.

The 23-year-old is from Witney, Oxfordshire and her parents are 'desperately worried' with members of her family set to fly out and join the search for her over the weekend.

In the emotional appeal, her father said: 'Please come home sweetheart. Your friends and your family, we need you.'

Catherine is said to have been travelling in Guatemala for two weeks having previously been in Mexico and California, leaving home in England in September 2018.

Catherine Shaw (left and right) is thought to have no money with her and also does not have her passport

British backpacker Catherine Shaw (left and right) left England in 2018 and has since travelled to Mexico and California

The map above details the area where Catherine was last seen and shows the surrounding towns

She is described as being of a slim build and is around 5ft 7ins with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.

She also has piercings in her nose, lips and ears. She is said to have no passport or money with her.

Her family said in a statement: 'She has always been really good about keeping in touch and informing us of her whereabouts and activities,' they added.

'So this is unusual behaviour which gives us great concern for her safety. Please help us to find her.'

A hotel spokesman said: 'We regret the disappearance of Catherine Shaw and can confirm she checked into the Eco Hotel Mayachik with her friend Elena Consolini on Sunday March 3 at 1.37pm and Catherine left the hotel on Tuesday March 5 in the early hours of the morning, at 1.37am to be exact, taking with her a musical instrument.

'This information was taken from our CCTV cameras.

'She left her belongings in her room, and her friend left the same day, March 5, in the morning hours.

'Not knowing anything about Catherine, Elena returned to our hotel on Thursday afternoon asking after her and that was when Catherine's belongings were handed to her.

'We are extremely worried about Catherine and we hope she is found as soon as possible.'

A hotel worker said: 'The cameras show she was with her friend Elena for about an hour opposite a bungalow and then she played the musical instrument she left with after Elena went to bed.

'We would have preferred her not to leave the hotel at that time of the night but everyone was asleep so no-one knew she had gone.

'The instrument she was playing was a Hang and people who had seen her with it earlier described it as having a black case.

Fears are growing for Catherine Shaw (pictured above) who was last seen on Monday

'You can't see on the CCTV what Catherine was wearing.

'San Juan la Laguna is very safe and quiet and we don't suspect at this stage anything bad has happened to Catherine.

'We just think she's got lost somewhere and hope she can be found as soon as possible.'

The worker added: 'Catherine was sharing a room with about four or five other people. She had checked in with Elena and my understanding is Elena checked out on Tuesday morning.

'We're not sure what happened during the two days before she came back asking about Catherine and it's something we're trying to look into. We don't know either where she is now but she's not at the hotel anymore.'

Asked if anything untoward had happened before the Brit backpacker vanished from the hotel, she said: 'We didn't notice anything. Everything seemed normal.'

New CCTV has now revealed that Catherine last left the hotel where she was staying several hours later, at around 5.30am.

She did not have a musical instrument at that time and was just holding a puppy in her arms.

The puppy was found on Friday morning at the top of a mountain overlooking the lake, a long hike from where Catherine was staying.

Close friend Paco Patchouli, who is based in Mexico and traveled to Guatemala at the behest of Catherine's parents, , posted an appeal to his social media page.

He said: 'H E L P! Friends in GUATEMALA. My friend has been missing since last Monday in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. She has no belongings with her, passport money or mobile phone.

Catherine Shaw (pictured above) was last seen in San Juan at the Eco Hotel Mayachik

The 23-year-old is also said to have piercings in her ears, her nose and her lips

'Please if you know anyone who is at the moment in Guatemala, please share this photo. Please contact me ASAP'.

'INFO: She was the last seen in San Juan l laguna in eco hotel mayachik. Cat is 1.7m tall, skinny, blue eyes, hair as int he photos, nose ring and a piercing inside the upper lip. A Double XX Scar on the back of her Neck.'

Catherine is understood to have been travelling with her friend Elena on and off for the last two months, and it was she who reported Catherine missing.

The Public Ministry in Guatemala also posted an appeal on its social media accounts.

In a statement to the MailOnline the Foreign Office said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman reported missing in Guatemala and are in contact with the local authorities as they search for her.'

The Lucie Blackman Trust chief executive Matthew Searle stressed how the 'first few days are vitally important' because those who may have seen something could still be in the area.

'We urge anyone who may have any information, no matter how small, to get in touch as soon as they can. They could hold the key to bringing Catherine home,' he added.

If you have any information you can contact the Lucie Blackman Trust, from overseas you can call +44800 098 8485 and from the UK you can call 0800 098 8485.