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This is the last picture of an 18-year-old Irishman, taken hours before he went missing in London.

Patrick Halpin, from Loughrea in Co Galway, was last seen in The Zoo nightclub on Bear St, just off Leicester Square, before he left to go to a Burger King outlet on Tuesday night.

The young man's family have travelled to London in a bid to trace him.

His sister Regina Ní hAilpín, 22, launched an appeal across social media to try and find her sibling.

She said: "My little brother was in London on a trip this week and went missing from a nightclub last night and hasn't been seen since.

"He was in The Zoo nightclub just off Leicester Square and left to go to Burger King but did not return home.

"He should have been staying in the Astor Museum Hostel, Bloomsbury, London.

"He's about 5'5', sandy brown hair, blue eyes, skinny, only just turned 18."

The London trip is believed to have been the first time the DCU student left the country, for a trip with the college's drama society.

It is understood the Metropolitan police are actively searching for the boy and attempts to call his mobile have been made, but the phone is ringing out.

The Metropolitan police website has a section for missing persons, which you can view here, or you can contact them in the UK on 101.

Those in Ireland may contact any Garda station.