A distraught aunt is appealing for help to find her nephew who was supposed to be on his way back to his army barracks but never arrived.

Karen Guirhil will be handing out leaflets in Norbury tomorrow, January 31, to raise awareness of Steven Mubanga.

The 20-year-old left his home in Kilmartin Road, Norbury, at about noon on January 11 and was due to be travelling to Catterick after his Christmas break.

He is due to be finishing his army training soon and taking part in a passing out ceremony on February 13.

But no-one has heard from him for 19 days and he has not withdrawn any money from his bank accounts.

Ms Guirhil said: "It’s very out of character.

"There’s no phone or bank details and no CCTV of him on London Road.

"There’s no sign of him anywhere.

"He’s very well liked and he loved the army.

"Nobody that knew him believes he would have gone off.

"We just want him home."

The 42-year-old, from Greenwich, said he is like a son to her because she has looked after him ever since his parents died when he was younger.

Ms Guirhil added: "This boy has never ever given me any trouble.

"Nobody can believe he has gone missing and none of his friends have heard from him.

"Knowing him, he’s not someone that would run away and it just does not make any sense.

"There’s no sign of where he’s gone."

When he went missing he was wearing dark blue jeans, a grey, black and white hooded top, a black and green baseball cap and white Nike Air Jordan trainers and was carrying a JD Sports bag and a backpack.

He is 5ft 10in and of medium build with short shaved hair and wears black square-rimmed glasses.

Investigating officer PC Kim Hyland, from Croydon police's missing person unit said: "Steven's disappearance is concerning.

“By all accounts, he was happy in his career and getting on really well in the Army.

“This is completely out of character, and there doesn't seem to be any reason why he would go missing like this.

"We've made extensive enquiries, and as far as we can tell, he has not gone abroad, so we are very keen to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard from Steven in the past couple of weeks.

"If Steven is reading this, then we'd just ask you to call us to let us know you're ok. You're certainly not in any trouble and your friends, family and colleagues just want to know that you're safe and well."

Anyone who knows where he is should call the police on 101 or the Missing People charity on 116000.

To help give out the posters meet at noon tomorrow outside Norbury train station on the London Road side near the bridge.

Go to www.facebook.com/stevenmubanga20 for details.