A MIDDLEWICH man who flew to Greece in a desperate bid to find his missing brother is to return to England without him.

Chris Cook, 30, flew to Malia last Sunday with his brother Tony, 28, in the hope of discovering the whereabouts of 20-year-old student Steven, who was due to return to his home in Sandbach last Wednesday.

Steven disappeared after a night out with friends on the day they arrived in the resort of Malia on August 31.

Since his disappearance, Steven's brothers and friends have carried out an exhaustive search of the island with the help of local police and more than 100 ex-patriots.

But as the Guardian went to press last night, Tuesday, Steven had still not been found and Chris was due to return home in order to discuss the search with his parents and to 'recharge the batteries' before deciding what to do next.

Speaking to the Guardian from Crete on Monday, Chris said: "It's very difficult. We feel we've done everything that we can do here just now in terms of distributing posters, alerting the media and searching for him ourselves.

"It's been an exhaustive search - we have been looking all over the island for him. We have searched farm and scrubland and there is very little of the island that is not inhabited.

"It's quite frustrating now because we're 10 or 11 days down the road and there's no sign of Steven."

Chris said local police officers had been given an item of Steven's clothing and that sniffer dogs are being used in the hope they can pick up on his trail.

Chris, digital media manager for Guardian Series Newspapers, said: "I feel in a state of nothingness, I'm just empty. I have this feeling of restlessness because we just can't find him.

"I'm coming home just to recharge the batteries, to talk to mum and dad and think about what we should do next."

Chris says his parents Norman, 62, and Patricia, 61, have been hit hard by the news.

He said "They can't eat or sleep, they're finding it very difficult."

Officials at the British consulate on the island are helping the family speak to police and the local hospitals.