Posters appealing for information about missing Norfolk people are being redesigned in the hope of increasing their impact.

The new-look posters will include less information - which researchers suggest can sometimes bombard people - and feature 3D images and smiling faces, which are considered to be more memorable and more likely to make an instant connection with passers-by.

The charity Missing People hopes the changes will maximise the chance of the public engaging with the posters and taking action.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the absence of the word "MISSING". This has been replaced with the more active phrase "HELP FIND", because research shows people are more likely to engage when presented with a clear call to action.

Jo Youle, chief executive of Missing People, said: "When it is appropriate to publicise someone's disappearance, our appeals are a hugely important way to reach the public, to help find children.

"By embracing innovation, we hope the new appeals will have an even greater impact and lead to those featured being found safely."

The new-look posters will also include a QR code to encourage passers-by to tap into social media and spread the word among their networks and background maps of where the person was last seen.

This is because people local to the area are more likely to respond to the call to action.

Some 70,000 children and young people are reported missing every year in the UK, and many more go unreported, according to Missing People.

The charity is currently running appeals for 12 people in Norfolk and Waveney, aged from seven to 81, some of whom have been missing for many years.

The youngest and longest missing is seven-year-old Daniel Entwistle, who disappeared from near his home at Copperfield Avenue, Great Yarmouth on Saturday, May 3, 2003 - a May Bank Holiday weekend.

A major police investigation identified him on the CCTV and his BMX bike was found abandoned near to the river close to Trinity Quay, but he has never been found.

The most recent disappearance is Pawel Martyniak, 21, from Carrel Road, Gorleston, who has been missing since the evening of Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

His father, Andre Martyniak, said: "We are missing him so much. We would like to ask Pawel to return home or contact us. We just want him to let us know he is all right."


Also missing - can you help find these local people?

Sophie Smith
Sophie, 21, disappeared from her home in Avondale Road in Gorleston at 3am on Boxing Day 2017.

Subsequent CCTV footage captured her heading towards the seafront a short time later, but there have been no other confirmed sightings since then.

Murareem Kotarja
Murareem, 16, was last seen in Great Yarmouth. He has been missing since December 7, 2019.

Gerard Keen
Gerard, 81, was last seen on October 28, 2015, when he left his home in Conrad Road in Lowestoft to take a walk.

Police carried out extensive searches on the ground and by helicopter, but six and a half years later they are no closer to finding him.

Abdelhay Anwar

Abdelhay went missing from Lowestoft in December 2018. He was 17-years-old.

Alan Qadir Rasul

Alan, 15, was last seen on October 3, 2017, at around 8pm at an address on Lyndhurst Road in Lowestoft.

He is white, around 5ft tall and has black hair, was wearing a black puffer style jacket and is understood to not be fluent in English.

Bledar Ismailaj

Bledar, 17, was last seen in King’s Lynn. He has been missing since July 20, 2018.

Stephen Thompson

Norwich man Stephen, 45, of Gateley Gardens in Catton Grove, was last seen on June 25, 2013, and has not been heard from since.

White, around 5ft 10in tall, of slim build, with short mousey coloured hair, police said they were concerned for his welfare.

Shaun Hutchings

Shaun, 46, went missing from Watton on June 1, 2014.

Luke Brampton

Luke, 38, was reported missing from the Great Yarmouth area on May 16, 2012, but was last seen by a friend on May 13, 2012.

He is described as white, 5ft 8in, of slim build with short dark brown hair. He wears rosary beads and crucifixes and regularly visits churches.

David Lidgey

Dr Lidgey, 51, left his home in Hilgay, near Downham Market, in June, 2011. He left his wife a note saying: 'Gone for a walk.'

Since then his whereabouts have been a mystery despite wife Shona and the couple's three children making emotional appeals for him to get in touch.

• Anyone with information can contact Missing People by text on 116 000 or email 116000@missingpeople.org.uk