A LOVING father has sparked a major police search after walking out of his home and disappearing without trace.

Today Derek Horne's distraught family issued an appeal for him to get in touch and said they feared for his safety -- three days after he went missing.

Derek, 54, was last seen at his house in Irene Street, Burnley, on Thursday evening. It is thought that he left sometime between 7am and 9.30am the following day and has not been seen since.

His family and detectives from Burnley CID are concerned about Derek's safety.

He has been suffering from depression after being in and out of work since taking voluntary redundancy from Burnley engineering firm TRW last year. Derek left the house with a number of ant-depression and paracetamol tablets.

The last person to see Derek was his daughter Michelle. She said: "I last saw dad at about 9.15pm on Thursday.

"I left the house on Friday morning at about 7 o'clock. Dad must have been in because when Mum got back in at about 9.30, the milk had been brought in, but there was no sign of him.

"It is just not like him. My dad was happiest when he was working and going out with my mum, or playing with his granddaughter Lauren."

"He has never done anything like this. That is what is so hard to get your head around.

"On Thursday he wasn't well, but he was a lot better than he had been, that's what we can't understand.

His wife Eileen was not at home on Thursday night. She was staying at her son Michael's house, whose newly-born daughter, Madison is unwell in hospital in Manchester undergoing tests.

She said: "When I got back to the house he just wasn't here". Eileen revealed that Derek had been unhappy working for an employment agency since taking voluntary redundancy from his full-time job last year.

"Please come home, everybody misses you and we just want you home', she added.

Since his disappearance, Michelle and Eileen have not left the house. They are waiting anxiously for any knews of his whereabouts.

Derek is of medium build, 5ft 7in tall with a tattoo of his name on his right forearm.

It is thought Derek was wearing blue jeans, a black and grey quilted coat and black shoes and a signet ring on his left hand.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who knows Derek, or anyone who has any ideas about some aspect of his life that his family may not be aware of.

A spokesman for them said: "It appear from our enquiries that Derek is a steady, home loving type of man and his disappearance is out of character.

"We would urge friends and associates of Derek to come forward. If there are any ex-work mates or friends of Derek who have had contact with him recently, or people who his family may not be aware of contact us, however trivial it may seem.

"It may be that Derek drinks in a pub or goes in a bookies that we do not know about. If anyone has any information we would be grateful if they got in touch."

Burnley CID can be contacted on: 01282 472143, or call Crimestoppers on: 0800 555111.