The parents of a teenage British soldier who disappeared while on holiday with his girlfriend have returned to Tenerife as they cling to the hope he is still alive.

Matthew Jackson, 18, vanished after a night out on the island at around 2am on December 18 and has not been heard of since.

He and his girlfriend, Amy Taylor, also 18, were four days into a week-long holiday at the Pearly Grey Ocean Club hotel in Callao Salvaje, near Playa de las Americas, when he disappeared.

He was last seen by Amy jumping over a wall near their hotel in what she thought was a prank, but there has been no sign of him since and his bank cards have not been used.

His mother, Lyn Jackson, 49, flew to Tenerife the day after he went missing and returned to the UK with Amy just before Christmas after no clues were found.

Special needs worker Mrs Jackson, from Crawley, and her husband, Terry, have flown back to the island hoping the mystery of his disappearance will be solved.

Speaking from Tenerife, she said: "We're still staying positive, as we've got to. While we are here, we're hoping to speak to the police through an interpreter to find out any more details.

"We haven't heard any more since the last time we were here. We didn't really have a Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day we just spent time talking about Matt. It has been a difficult time."

Matthew, an electrician and driver with the 16th Signal Regiment based at Elmpt Station in Germany, was on Christmas leave and due back at base on January 4. He was due to be sent to Afghanistan in February to drive Ridgeback armoured trucks but had his deployment date put on hold due to an eye injury.