The longer he is missing, the more concern grows

Foreign Office spokesman

British consular staff are also helping and Mr Hodgson's photograph has been circulated around the island.

He is believed to have gone missing as his parents, Derek and Beryl, checked into a hotel on the island.

There have been no sightings.

Craig Taylor, Mr Hodgson's cousin, said the missing man, who has a mental age of eight, was often attracted to groups of people and even churches

"Hopefully he is with some group of people somewhere. He does have a bit of a wanderlust.

Epileptic attacks

"The only alternative is he has suffered some sort of epileptic [attack] and in that case we fear the worst.

"He has recently had a couple of bad epileptic attacks.

"His parents are absolutely devastated," said Mr Taylor.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office told BBC News Online every effort was being made by the British Consulate on the island to locate Mr Hodgson.

"The longer he is missing, the more concern grows."