Specialist divers have joined the search for a young Uist man who has not been seen since Boxing Day.

The team of divers from Strathclyde Police are expected to begin their search through lochs close to where Simon Macmillan was last seen. They will use equipment to crawl along the bed of the lochs.

The 21-year-old merchant navy cadet disappeared from the Linique area of South Uist in the early hours of December 26 after attending a Christmas dance on the south part of the island. He lives in Ardmore, about two miles from where he was last seen.

Coastguard teams, police and hundreds of volunteers have searched land and water over a large patch of South Uist. They have found no signs of the man.

Mr Macmillan is described as 5 foot 10 inches in height, slim with short black hair. He was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and black trainers.

The seaman was not meant to be at home at Christmas. He had only joined a pipe-laying ship in Norway about three weeks ago. It is understood it was his first trip after he recently signed up to the Merchant Navy and he had just completed an initial study phase in Glasgow Nautical College. At the last minute he received a few days' leave off the vessel and flew home to spend Christmas with his family.

His father remains confident they will solve the mystery of the disappearance. Angus Macmillan said he was sure there was "a gem of information" which could help solve the mystery.

Steve Black, Inspector of Northern Constabulary, said: "A tremendous amount of effort and resource has been put into the search and inquiry over the past couple of weeks.

"Our main aim is to find Simon and we will exhaust all avenues to find him."