If Louise met someone interesting she might have gone with them and a dangerous situation could have arisen

Phil Kerton

"Louise is very trusting and could have been taken in by someone who said they could offer a lifestyle which can solve all her problems.

"People talk to each other on public transport outside of Britain, so if Louise met someone interesting she might have gone with them and a dangerous situation could have arisen.

"She could have been mugged walking about a dangerous part of town."

Louise had been visiting her fianc�'s mother in the Aachen region of Germany, and disappeared after being dropped off at Aachen railway station.

Poster campaign

She had been due to take a train to the Belgian port of Ostend to catch a ferry to Dover.

Ms Kerton's elder sisters Angela, 29, and Francesca, 27, accompanied their father to Ostend on Saturday.

Mr Kerton, his wife Kathleen 55, son Simon, 25 and daughter Marie, 16, then continued on to Aachen.

The family plan to talk to a Belgian missing persons agency, Marc & Corine, and to Ostend police.

The family's hope is that Ms Kerton might have been picked up on security cameras have been dashed.

Louise was friends with Lucie Blackman, who was killed in Japan

"Unfortunately there's no CCTV in Belgium, it's illegal there because of human rights legislation, and there's very little in Germany," Mr Kerton said.

The family also plan to put up posters in bars and restaurants, and visit an uncle's war grave in Ostend which Ms Kerton may have visited.

They will travel back to Ostend on Monday on the train Ms Kerton would have taken exactly two weeks previously, to ask if anyone saw her.

They also plan to stop at Belgian cities such as Bruges, Brussels and Ghent along the train route where she may have stopped off.

The nursing student had been returning from her trip to Germany three days early as she was worried she had failed the final practical part of her nursing exams.

Friend killed

Her family initially believed she may have had "some upset" with her fianc� Peter Simon, 28, and had taken some time to herself.

Mr Simon had waited for five days at Dover for her to return.

Ms Kerton was a close friend of Ms Blackman, the bar hostess who was killed in Japan.

Ms Kerton's family said she was devastated by the loss of her friend and suffered from depression - although she had got over this.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call Margate police on 01843 222127.