British detectives have returned from Cambodia after investigating the sudden disappearance of a backpacker two years ago.

Four officers from Sussex Police's major crime branch spent ten days in the capital Phnom Penh working alongside the Cambodian National Police on the case of Eddie Gibson.

However, the whereabouts of Mr Gibson remains a mystery and inquiries are continuing into what happened to him.

The 21-year-old, from Hove, was three weeks into a course at Leeds University when he decided to leave and travel around Cambodia.

Two weeks later, on October 24, 2004, he sent his mother Jo an email saying he was "really looking forward to coming home".

The message was the last his family received from him, and when they went to meet him off a flight from Bangkok, Thailand, on November 1, he was not on board.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "The inquiries made in Cambodia have been useful and have yielded more details about what was already known about Eddie's time there.

"However, Eddie's movements after October 24, 2004, remain a mystery and his current whereabouts are still unknown.

"Further inquiries based on these new details will be made both in the UK and also in Cambodia."

The last reported sighting of Mr Gibson was in Phnom Penh, on October 23, by "Ami", a Cambodian girl with whom he had a holiday romance.

Despite extensive inquiries, including trips to the Far East, Mr Gibson's family have been unable to trace him.

His father, Mike, 59, a corporate financier, said: "Unfortunately there has not been the breakthrough we had hoped for but one or two helpful bits of information have emerged, and they will be followed up.

"We are pleased that Sussex Police have put resources into this, but disappointed that there has been no major breakthrough."