Mr Hartley joined the Royal Military Academy after university

Blake Hartley, 25, from Cound in Shropshire, went missing on Saturday while on exercise in Chamonix.

His mother, Sally Perrin, has been joined by a number of his former schoolfriends who were with him at Ellesmere College in Shropshire.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Mr Hartley was not mountaineering when he went missing.

A helicopter is being used to search for Mr Hartley who was taking part in an expedition organised by the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

The mountaineering expedition has been postponed while the search is conducted by the gendarmerie.

Mr Hartley joined the Royal Military Academy as a cadet officer after graduating from Reading University.

An MoD spokesman said the exact circumstances of his disappearance were being investigated.