The man, named only by the gendarmes as Mr Murray, was last seen in the village of Le Bugue on Tuesday morning.

According to the gendarmes he left his home at around 9am to drive his wife to work in the town of Journiac.

Mr Murray normally follows the same routine each morning which involves popping into the maison de la presse in Le Bugue to buy a newspaper, before buying bread in the village of Le Buisson-de-Cadouin and then heading to Limeuil for a stroll.

But he was last seen at 9.15am in the newsagents in Le Bugue and has not been home since.

Searches have taken place along the usual routes he takes as well as in the places he is likely to frequent but as of Wednesday morning the British pensioner had not been found.

According to police he is around 1.70m in height and has grey hair. On Tuesday, he was wearing navy blue jeans and a black sweater. He has glasses when he reads and has difficulty moving.

He is not able to speak much French.

At the time he was driving a red Peugeot 206 with the registration plate 2242-VG-24.

Anyone who comes across Mr Murray or has knowledge of where he might be is asked to call the gendarmes on the number 17.