An Irvine woman has told of her trauma while fighting to get to the truth 44 years after her brother went missing.

Donna Davidson spoke of the family's neverending nightmare of not knowing what happened to Irvine toddler Sandy Davidson when he disappeared in April 23, 1976.

As she re-appealed for anyone who knows anything to come forward, Donna told the Times of the toll both the uncertainty and her fight to get to the truth has taken on her over the years.

Donna Davidson said: "It was something that never got spoken about because it affected my mum and dad too much but I got to a certain age and thought I need to take this further.

"That's when I started working with the police to try and find him but it's been a constant fight to keep him in the public eye."

Sandy was playing with little sister Donna in their gran’s back garden in St Kilda’s Bank, Bourtreehill, on April 23, 1976 when he vanished just a few weeks before his fourth birthday.

While it was believed Sandy, who would now be 48, may have wandered off or suffered an accident while the entire Bourtreehill estate was still a building site with foundations being laid for new homes.

But as time went passed his family began to fear the worst, with their fears seemingly confirmed by a neighbour who was working in his garden at the time told police he saw Sandy leaving in a car with a strange man, but the child did not seem distressed, so he thought nothing of it.

Donna said: "It's been awful hard over the years I took unwell and have been off my work with fibromyalgia, which can be brought on by trauma. When I stopped working I was in quite a bad place. 

"I've had people contacting me and telling me this or that and that they will cooperate with the police, I've had a few fantasists if that's what you want to call them, and that's quite hard. Not that long ago I had someone contact me from the Czech Republic and they were that convinced that they were Sandy they moved to Scotland, but we got the DNA and it wasn't.

"When I stopped working I was in quite a bad place and decided to go to counselling, which I had never bothered with before, and I can't believe the difference.

"Last year I made a promise to myself that it was time for me to have a life instead of feeling guilty or feeling it would have been better if it was me. I've had quite a lot to deal with and taken it on my own shoulders and I need to sort myself out to keep fighting.

"I don't believe he is alive, but I believe we will find him. I think he is close by to where he went missing. Everyone's locked in their gardens right now and maybe someone is going to dig something up one day, I think if he was found it would be by accident but we need to know.

"I've done everything I can but if anyone knows anything, or if anyone comes across anything please contact police, there's nothing worse than not knowing."

Police Scotland can be contacted on 101 in an emergency always ring 999.