A GRIEVING family has won a battle to have a cash sum paid to them by their missing son’s employers.

Kyle Vaughan, 24, of Newbridge, went missing following a car accident on December 2012.

But when his silver Peugeot 306 was found abandoned on the A467, between Risca and Crosskeys, with Mr Vaughan nowhere to be found, a missing person enquiry quickly becoming a murder investigation.

Over five years since, four arrests have made by Gwent Police - but no prosecutions have followed due to a lack of evidence.

Kyle’s parents, Alan Vaughan and Mary Lucas, who live in Newport, have been looking for answers ever since.

When Mrs Lucas was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2013 and her illness became terminal, Mr Vaughan had to reduce his working hours. Financially life became very difficult.

They discovered that Kyle, through his employers Unilever, had a pension policy that might make a payment to his next of kin if he were declared to have died.

After working with Huddersfield-based solicitor Sarah Young, the family obtained a declaration of death so that they could pursue a payout from Unilever.

The Presumption of Death Act 2013 enables a declaration of presumed death order to be made by the High Court, when an adult has gone missing and is believed to have died.

The court requires evidence from the police, family and friends as well as disclosure of the missing person’s financial information to reach a decision.

Solicitors have confirmed that Unilever made a payment to Alan Vaughan on March 8, but the family has indicated they will not reveal the sum for personal reasons.

Mr Vaughan said: “It has been more than four years since we lost Kyle, but his mother and I still miss him more than I can say.

“The money from Unilever doesn’t make the pain any less but I know that Kyle would have wanted us to have it and to spend it on making his mum’s life as comfortable as possible.

“I’m so glad that Sarah was willing to take the case on, as otherwise there was no way that we could have got this money.”

Kyle lived at home with his parents and worked as a technical operative for Unilever.

He was known to his many friends as Jabbers and described by family as a “larger than life, fun loving young man”.

Anyone with information can call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.