The brother of a missing Scots woman has issued a desperate plea for anyone who knows anything about his sister’s whereabouts to contact the police, and thanked those who have already helped in the search.

Alathea Byrne - also known as Alice - was last seen on January 1 leaving a party on Marlborough Street in the Portobello area of Edinburgh, but no one has seen or heard from her since.

The 28-year-old is understood to be vulnerable, and left home without her phone.

On Tuesday, her brother Alexander posted a plea on his social media for people to continue to share Alice’s missing person poster, and to contact police if anyone has any information.

He wrote: “My sister Alice is still missing. Friends and family have been putting up posters around Edinburgh. 

“If you're able to screenshot and print out a few posters, please do. The more people see and hear about Alice, the better chance we have of jogging someone's memory. 

“Thank you everyone for sharing so widely, we’ve been contacted from all over the UK and internationally. Thank you to everyone that’s already spoken to the police, if you're thinking about it, please do so. Thanks also to the police who have taken this very seriously and been very helpful. Contact numbers are the same. We will update when we get new info.”

Originally, Alice had last been seen at 2am on New Year’s Day going to Portobello beach for a party, however the latest sighting placed her eight hours later leaving a party in the area.

At the time she originally went missing she was seen wearing a long black t-shirt, black jeans and an orange hoodie, however the latest sighting states she was seen leaving without the hoodie.

She is described as white, around 5ft 6ins in height and of medium build with short black hair. 

In the latest update from police, Inspector Keith Scott said: “It is out of character for Alice not to keep in contact with her family and friends. We are becoming increasingly concerned for her wellbeing and we are working to trace her as soon as possible to ensure that she is safe and well. Searches and enquiries have been ongoing since she was reported missing, and we are now asking the public for any assistance they can provide. 

“I would urge anyone who has seen Alice since Saturday morning, or anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact us as soon as possible. I would appeal to Alice herself to contact us if she sees this appeal. Contact 101 quoting reference 0647 of 2 January.”