THE sister of missing student nurse Louise Kerton is joining a search party to scour the German town in which she was last seen.

Francesca Kerton, a University of York chemistry lecturer, plans to join friends and relatives on a coach trip to Aachen to carry out an intensive weekend search.

The move follows a reported sighting of the 24-year-old by a nun working to provide breakfast for homeless people in the town.

Louise, from Broadstairs, Kent, disappeared a month ago.

Francesca said: "I was over there last week with my parents looking around for her, but the problem is that when there are only a handful of us we are missing places."

She said the family were confident Louise was still in Aachen after speaking with the nun, who believed she saw her last week.

"I spoke to this nun myself, and gave her a description of my sister," Francesca said.

Louise is a former classmate of Lucie Blackman, who was kidnapped and murdered in Japan.