FRIENDS of a man who went missing during a night out in York are planning a fundraising day for York Rescue Boat.

The event next month in Skipton comes after a renewed, unsuccessful search for Rory Johnson-Hatfield along the River Ouse near York by a police underwater search team earlier this month.

The 29-year-old man from Skipton went missing in the early hours of November 20 while on a night out in York, having been staying at the Travelodge hotel in Piccadilly.

Police and York Rescue Boat carried out extensive searches in the weeks following his disappearance, and his friends and family distributed posters around the city, but searches were then badly disrupted by flooding on the river.

Rory's family said on their Facebook page, Rory Johnson is Missing, that the underwater search unit had conducted a surface search of a 15-mile stretch of the river between York and Selby earlier this month, using kayaks to enable the team to get close up to the banks but the search finished without finding Rory.

They thanked all the team involved in the search and North Yorksshire Police for continuing to look for their son, adding: "We will find him."

More than £4,000 has been raised for York Rescue Boat, which has been heavily involved in searches for Rory, and a fun day is being planned from 2pm on Sunday March 13 at The Venue in Cavendish Street, Skipton, featuring a tombola, auction of prizes, music and a bouncy castle for children.