The eldest son of a missing mother of four from West Sussex today made an emotional plea for her to come home.

Fears are growing for Wendy Corbin, who left her children alone on Tuesday night and has not been seen since.

Her disappearance has sparked huge search by police and the public.

The 42-year-old mother has been suffering from depression and her actions are said to be completely out of character Today, her son Jason, 21, read a statement on behalf of his family, who are waiting by the phone for news at their home in Walberton, near Arundel.

He said: "If she is worried that she is in trouble, she's not. If she does not want to come home, just give us a telephone call.

"She does not have to tell us where she is. We all love her and want her home - we love her and miss her."

The appeal followed a fruitless late-night search by police.

Despite more than 50 officers and Neighbourhood Watch volunteers conducting extensive searches around Walberton village, no clues have been found.

Chief Inspector Steve Whitton said officers continued looking in fields until 1.30am today but poor weather conditions hampered their search.

Urging Mrs Corbin to let her family know she is safe, Chief Insp Whitton said: "Her family have been helping us by trying to put together a list of family and friends and possible places she might have gone to.

"This is about making sure she is safe. We appeal to Mrs Corbin to get in contact and let us know she's okay.

"We will go over what we have done and decide whether to extend the search area or whether other lines of enquiry need to be followed.

"Everything so far has given no clues to what's happened to her."

Yesterday the quiet village was packed with police vans as the Walberton Baptist Church Hall was used as headquarters for the search.

Mrs Corbin was last seen by three of her children, aged 12, 14 and 17, at 9.30pm on Tuesday. She left the house without taking anything with her and her husband Trevor reported her missing early yesterday when she did not return..

Chief Insp Whitton said: "She is a conscientious mother and we are becoming concerned for her safety. This is a missing person enquiry but we are keeping an open mind and are following a number of different avenues."