THE parents of a man who has been missing for more than a month have made an emotional appeal for him to get in touch.

Philip Christie, aged 47, was last seen at 1.30pm on September 1 outside his home in Shepherd Street, Greenmount,

His worried dad Keith joined his wife Patricia, both aged 74, and Philip's girlfriend, Cristina Maio in an appeal for their son to come home.

Keith, of Kensington Drive, Bury, said: “It has placed a tremendous strain on me, Patricia and all the family and we just desperately want Phil to come home.

“We all love him and understand that he has his problems, but the most important thing is that he is safe.”

As a child, Philip attended St Stephen's Primary School and Derby High School in Bury and then spent two years studying at Peel College, which is now Bury College.

Aged 18, he went to study at Aston University in the West Midlands but left after a few months and returned to Bury.

Philip then had a series of jobs and worked at Deep Pan Pizza in Pilsworth.

He gained promotion and took a job with the company at Belle Vue in his late 20s or early 30s.

Keith said: “While he was there, the restaurant was robbed three or four times and Phil was threatened with a machete.

“It affected him a lot and he ended up leaving the company. It was a great shame what happened.”

In his late 30s, Philip began working at the Prinovis printing press in Liverpool and took voluntary redundancy a few years later.

Keith added: “Since then, he has either taken a job and not been given regular hours or had problems getting jobs and that has hit his morale.

"It must be energy sapping being knocked back all the time.

“On top of that, he has a mortgage and bills to pay and I know that he has had financial problems.

"It could be that he is just running away from them.”

Philip went to see Cristina, aged 49, at her home in Manchester Road, Bury, at about noon on September 1 and she spent time with him before giving him a lift home at 1.30pm.

The couple met seven months ago and saw each other almost every day.

Cristina said that, on the day he went missing, Philip to hold her he felt depressed and she advised him to visit his GP.

"He had been down before, but never that down," said Cristina.

She added: "If Phil could read this now I would say 'Come home, because there are people who love you and are worried about you. We won't think anything bad. Your safety is the most important thing.'"

Keith said that he believes Philip's decision to go missing was premeditated as he left his pet cat with lots of food.

“I think he will be within a 50-mile radius of Bury,” added Keith, who described how Philip’s siblings Paul, aged 45, and Julie Bennett, aged 44, were worried about him, as were his niece and three nephews.

Philip is described as white, around 5ft 11in, with slim build and brown receding hair, a beard and green eyes.

Call police on 101 with information.