A POLICE officer sparked a major alert after telling his family he was going to harm himself.

Detective Constable Tony Hall went missing after making the threat following a meeting with his estranged wife in Ribchester on Friday afternoon.

Yesterday, family and friends held a press conference in Preston to appeal for him to come home.

Officers say DC Hall, who formerly lived and worked in Blackburn, rang his family later in the day from a hotel in Yorkshire to say he was all right and coming home.

Concerns had grown after his family received letters from him on Saturday indicating he may harm himself.

His disappearance sparked an investigation involving up to 30 officers who asked people to ring if they saw his distinctive black Volkswagen Golf GTi -- with the personalised registration V6 TSH.

The 40-year-old has been off work suffering from depression since before Christmas because of personal problems.

He joined the force as a cadet in 1980 and worked in Blackburn and Darwen police stations before taking up his current post in CID at the force HQ in Preston.

Superintendent Dawn Copley said: "On Saturday morning some correspondence came to light which gave us serious cause for concern for his welfare.

"There have been some letters received from Tony to some family members which indicated he may have been thinking of harming himself.

"In the letters Tony talked a bout going to a hotel in the city. It was no more detailed than that.

"Tony has been off work for a number of months due to some personal difficulties. He has been receiving support from his family, friends and work colleagues.

"He has had a number of difficulties in his personal life and has been suffering from depression and we think that's linked to his disappearance."

DC Hall's brother Stuart Hall, 38, said his brother's personality had changed since he had been suffering from depression, he said: "He used to be bubbly, enthusiastic, noisy and lively. Unfortunately that changed."