An urgent search is underway for a paraglider who took off from Cumbria at lunchtime on Tuesday and has not been seen since. 

Cumbria Police are currently desperately trying to locate Matthew Thornton, 34, who has gone missing close to the Lake District tourist hotspot of Grasmere. 

Mr Thornton, who is from Oxfordshire, set off to go paragliding yesterday.

The last contact with him was at around 12.30pm when he said he was going to attempt to paraglide as far as he could back to Grasmere. However, it is not known which fell he set off paragliding from. 

Matthew was last seen wearing black shorts and a pale blue top.

Police have also released a picture of his paraglider which is turquoise and has a distinctive pink smiley face wearing sunglasses on it. 

In a statement, Cumbria Police said: 'Officers are keen to hear from anyone who suspects they may have seen Matthew since 12.30pm or anyone else who may have information which could assist.

'You can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/reportit quoting incident number 177 of 29 October 2024. You can also phone on 101.'