THE FAMILY of missing Sandbach student Steve Cook have been handed a glimmer of hope by a poster of an unidentified man that is being circulated in Crete.

Steve's family are currently trying to determine whether the man on the poster, spotted in the island's Hosonissos area, is the 20-year-old avid Liverpool supporter or an Irish youngster previously identified by the family.

The poster shows a white male with half of his face bruised and swollen, and blue and white tubes coming out of his mouth.

Steve's family were originally informed about the poster by a Dutchman, and further sightings have confirmed that it is genuine.

Steve's brother Chris, aged 30, said: "At the moment we're trying to determine whether this could be Steve or a poster of the young Irish lad that we went to the university hospital to identify.

"Unfortunately the Irish lad has passed away as a result of his injuries from a biking accident, but the difference in descriptions from the initial poster put up of the Irish lad and this new one are quite distinct."

Steve, a student at Liverpool University, disappeared on September 1 just hours after he and a group of 15 pals arrived at the Greek resort of Malia.

Friends raised the alarm after the former Sandbach School pupil failed to return to his hotel after a night out, and since then, a search party made up of friends, family, ex-pats and the local authorities has been scouring the island in search of the 20-year-old.

Steve's brother Tony and cousin Mike flew back to Crete on Friday to continue the search, which will now involve a check of the island's hospitals.

The search has been boosted by the generosity of local people, with a Sandbach travel and airways agency worker helping to provide flights at short notice, and a local air hostess handing out flyers on every flight to Crete.

More than £3,000 has been raised to aid the search, including £2,500 by liverpool football fans site www.ynwa.tv, and on Sunday, more than 20,000 leaflets were handed out at the Liverpool vs Man United football match.

People willing to help can find out more at www.findstevecook.co.uk.