THE sister of missing Manic Street Preacher Richey Edwards has thanked players of People's Postcode Lottery for raising more than £2.2 million for the charity Missing People.

Rachel Elias, whose brother, from Blackwood, went missing in 1995, said: "If your loved one went missing, you would want the whole world to stop and search for them. It's heart-warming to see this staggering figure - £2 million is a huge amount of money for Missing People and it has helped with so many areas of the charity's work."

Players of People's Postcode Lottery have supported Missing People since 2008, helping the charity to support families and search for missing people. According to a 2012 report, 13,740 missing persons incidents were reported to police in Wales over one year.

Ms Elias is a family representative for Missing People and works to help people suffering the heartache of searching for a loved one. She has met players at 'Millions Draw' events.

She added: "It's been great to speak to a number of players at events in the past, and many of them play because they want to support charities like ours. Everything we do to support families has benefited from this overwhelming donation and we're very grateful. "

Jo Youle, chief executive of Missing People, said: "This is an amazing show of support from players of People's Postcode Lottery, with many of them playing just to help organisations like ours.

"A huge thank you to all of the players who have helped us be a lifeline when someone disappears."