THE mother of a man who vanished five years ago has called for a fresh investigation into his disappearance.

Scott Clive is believed to have been murdered but his body has never been found.

The 30-year-old disappeared on October 10, 2002, after moving from Scotland to Tyneside.

Detectives launched a murder investigation after discovering Scott had been drinking with a mentally ill man who later admitted stealing his money and watch.

Eight people were arrested but nobody was ever charged in connection with Scott's disappearance.

Now, his mother Tricia, who lives in Stranraer, has called for Northumbria Police to review the original inquiry and make a fresh appeal to find out what happened to her son.

Tricia said: "In my heart, I believe Scott is dead.

"But we have to know what happened to him and where his body is.

"If he is dead, we need to find him and have a burial and a grave. We need a place where we can go to remember him."

Tricia claims that, in hindsight, she wishes the police had made the inquiry more high-profile, by appealing through programmes such as the BBC's Crimewatch.

She said: "The detectives said they didn't see any point in doing Crimewatch.

"They need to launch a fresh appeal, with Crimewatch if possible. We're willing to do whatever's needed.

"I would also like to see a review of the whole case. I believe the officers on the original case are now retired. We need a new team of detectives and someone with a fresh mind to look at this again."

Tricia, 56, is a former office worker. Her husband Colin, 53, is a bus driver.

After leaving school at 16, Scott spent several years working on a trawler.

But, for the last two years of his life, he was unemployed.

Tricia said: "He decided he wanted to build a new life for himself.

"His cousin lives in North Shields and he liked the town. He thought he could find a job there."

On the Thursday he vanished, Scott telephoned his sister Lynsey.

Lynsey, a 30-year-old hairdresser and mother-of-two, said: "We spoke for about half an hour. He was just asking how everyone was and how the kids were and what I had been doing.

"He was just his normal self. He was saying how he was looking forward to his mum and dad coming down to North Shields.

"That was the last time I - or anyone from our family - spoke to Scott."

Scott's family began to worry when they did not hear from him for four days.

Tricia said: "It was unlike him not to call.

"We tried to call his mobile. To start with, it was just ringing. Then there was nothing at all."

The family reported Scott's disappearance to police. Around a week later, they appealed through the media for help in tracing Scott, who was 5ft 11ins tall, with short, dark hair.

On the night of his disappearance, he was seen with several men in a homeless person's shelter in Borough Road, around the corner from his flat in Prudhoe Terrace.

Scott was also picked up by a nearby CCTV camera around 11pm. He was with another man who, police say, has since been identified.

Detectives also had to follow-up the possibility that Scott had fallen into the nearby River Tyne. Police divers searched the river but nothing was found.

In December, detectives held a press conference and confirmed they were treating the case as murder.

Tricia said: "I was told the last man Scott was seen with was a man who was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

"The police told me this man had been interviewed a number of times and he had confirmed that he had taken Scott's watch and his money.

"He told police that Scott was drunk and he had no problems taking the money and watch off him - but we only have his word for that.

"Apparently, he ended up in a mental hospital and the police have had difficulty talking to him."

The eight people arrested were released without charge, except for one man who was cautioned for theft.

According to Tricia, the trail then went cold.

She said: "I was always in contact with the police family liaison officer and he was very good.

"But if I tried to get hold of a senior officer, they weren't there or they weren't available or they were on holiday.

"We aren't pushy people by nature but, when I look back, I wish I had pushed harder."

As the years went by, the family tried to get on with their lives.

Scott's sister Kirsty was 17 and at college when her brother went missing.

Now aged 22 and employed as a child care worker, she is married with a baby son.

Kirsty said: "I think about him all the time and wonder what happened. My life is on hold.

"I don't know if the police could have done more but I think they should be doing more to get it in the public eye."

In July, Scott's other sister Lynsey also got married.

She said: "I was thinking about Scott a lot that day. It was hard. He should have been there.

"The longer this goes on, the more we lose hope of ever finding him."

Tricia said: "The police keep telling me the case isn't closed but it has stopped.

"Something has to be done to breath new life into the investigation, otherwise it is never going to be solved.

"I don't even care if someone rings anonymously and tells us what happened to Scott and where he is.

"If they found his body, it would bring some relief - even if nobody is charged.

"We can't have closure until we have a body. We can't move on.