MICHAEL Best, the 47-year-old Wilton man missing from his home for 17 days, has been found safe and well, thanks to members of the public.

Mr Best had been living in an abandoned caravan in the middle of Grovely Woods.

He was found on Tuesday morning just a couple of hours after his father, Dennis, had made an appeal for help in finding him at a press conference at Salisbury police headquarters.

Mr Best disappeared from the family's home, above their fruit and vegetable business off the market square in Wilton, during the afternoon of August 31.

He has a learning disability and the family were growing increasingly concerned for his health and safety, as he had not taken his medication and had no money.

Unable to read or write, Mr Best would not have been able to telephone his family or let them know where he was.

The Journal carried an appeal for help last week and police said the story had triggered the memory of Wilton Estate woodsmen working in Grovely Wood, who recalled seeing a man matching the description of Mr Best.

More information followed from people who had visited Grovely Woods over the weekend, leading to police finding the abandoned caravan. Mr Best was taken for a check-up with a doctor and was reunited with his family.