The parents of a man missing for six years have spoken of their relief at the news he has been found alive.

Matthew Green disappeared from his Sittingbourne home in April 2010, after saying he was on his way to London to see friends.

But that was the last parents Jim and Pauline saw of him. Police revealed this afternoon the 32-year-old had been found somewhere in Europe.

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Speaking to KentOnline this afternoon, the couple have told how they were visited by a police officer on May 3 to say he was in Spain.

It has emerged Matthew was spoken to by Spanish authorities who were concerned about his welfare.

He gave them a number of names, including his real one, which led them to contact Kent police after he came up on a missing person's database.

However, due to data protection laws, the couple can't be put in direct touch with Matthew, or told exactly where he is.

Pauline, 62, said: "We had a call from Kent Police and a lady came round to say that they had located Matthew as being in Spain.

"Apparently this guy came across as acting a bit strange and their social aid - like our social services - had come across him and he didn't know who he was. He gave two alias names and also Matthew Green.

"They got in touch with Interpol and they've done a finger print match and they're 99.9 % sure it's Matthew. Everything has snowballed from there.

"We then got in touch with the British Embassy in Madrid and we've encountered data protection because of his age.

"I did write him a letter with telephone numbers on and I've asked several times if the letter has reached him but due to data protection they cannot say.

"We know he's in Spain but no not know where because they won't tell us. We don't know what happens next."

Desperate for more news, the family has approached criminologist and former detective Mark Williams-Thomas.

"We need someone to help us get over this data protection," added Pauline. "We have done six years of not knowing and now we know but can't do anything. It's very frustrating."

Dad Jim, 63, described it as a heart-stopping moment when they were told the news.

"When we got the knock on the door and she said it's about Matthew but it's nothing to worry about, my heart nearly stopped. We didn't know what to say or do."

The couple considered getting straight on a plane but decided to hold off.

"Where is he? Spain is a big place," Jim said. "All the information is coming from Madrid but he could be in a province somewhere."

He added: "We've been on a roller coaster and we have managed to get another ride. "We're at the top but at the moment they have switched the power off and left us in limbo.

"It's so, so frustrating. After all this time and all that we have done, TV, media, walked the streets, we have done everything, but now the police have closed the case because he's no longer missing - but what do we do?

"I know he's a grown man but put yourselves in our place. After all this time it would be

such a relief (to see him) for all of us, all the family and friends that we know have been concerned. Bless his little cotton socks, I'd give him a hug and a cuddle.

"It would then be why? How have you survived for the last six years? Where have you been? We do not want to scare him off.

They're questions we have asked time and time again."

Speaking in November the couple issued another urgent plea for information about what might have happened to the roofer.

In June 2013, their hopes were raised when there were reported sightings of Matthew in New Zealand, but these turned out to be false.