THE wife of a missing trainee teacher has renewed her appeal for information to find her “kind and brilliant” husband.

Nicholas Harper, 50, from Pickering, who has been working on a placement at Archbishop Holgate’s School in York since last September, went missing on February 7 after leaving his home for work. His car was later found at Cowhouse Wood in Helmsley.

His wife Rachael said nothing had been out of the ordinary on the day Nicholas disappeared.

“One of the children had been ill during the night and that morning it was just the usual family rush of getting everyone out of the door to school and work,” she said.

Originally from Brighton, the couple met in Sheffield and moved to Pickering as they both share a love of the outdoors.

“Nicholas was a data analyst before he was made redundant and that gave him the push to train as a teacher, which is something he had always wanted to do,” she said.

“He was coming to the end of his placement in York and was finding the training quite challenging with lots of work and long hours and was putting a lot of pressure on himself.”

Rachael said she was trying to keep life as normal as possible for the sake of their two children, aged five and three.

“Children are very resilient and I have had great support from family and friends,” she said.

“Everyone has been fantastic, including the neighbours, the kids’ schools and our employers, it has been very humbling.”

Rachael said Nicholas is an ultra-runner and had come in the top 20 of an Iron Man competition last year.

“He loves running, swimming and cycling and is incredibly fit,” she added.

Rachael said she would like to thank those who have helped in the search for Nicholas, including the police, mountain rescue teams and volunteers.

“Friends have come across from Sheffield to join the search,” she said. “It has been touching that people have put in so much effort.”

Rachael said her husband was a “genuinely nice guy”.

“He was a brilliant husband and a great dad,” she said. “We were just leading a normal family life until this happened. I can’t give up hope and would appeal to anyone who has any information, however small they may think it is to contact the police.”

Nicholas is about 5ft 5ins tall, of stocky build with short dark brown hair and a full beard. He was wearing a three-piece suit when he left home, but this was found in his car. It is believed he had changed into a dark blue and black walking jacket, black trousers and running shoes.

Phone police on 101.