The mum of missing student Jack O'Sullivan has released a picture of him leaving for university - and revealed his dreams of becoming a lawyer.

Catherine O'Sullivan is refusing to give up hope that her son can be found after he vanished while walking home from a party more than six months ago.

Multiple searches by police and organised privately by the family have failed to yield significant answers - and his disappearance remains a mystery.

Jack, 23, was last seen at 3.15am on Saturday March 2 in the area of Brunel Lock Road/Brunel Way, in Bristol.

But Catherine has now spoken about Jack's hope and dreams for the future - and released a picture of him setting off for university with his whole future ahead of him.

In the image, which she has given permission to share, Jack is seen waving outside their home in Flax Bourton in September 2020 during the midst of the Covid pandemic.

She wrote: "Feeling sad. Jack off to uni. I just wish it was under better circumstances but fingers crossed all goes well. Feeling like I've lost a limb tonight."

Jack graduated from the University of Exeter in July 2023 with a degree in History.

Catherine said he had been in the 'best place he had ever been' when he went missing - which makes even harder to understand.

She said he dreams of being a lawyer and was doing a law conversion course in Bristol - with the family receiving his exam results not long after he disappeared.

Speaking after her son, Catherine, 52, said: "Outwardly people think Jack is very quiet and shy but at home he was a completely different character. He's very kind and very caring and really close to his brother.

"He is really clever - but he is also very determined to achieve and wants to do well.

"He is desperate to become a lawyer.

(Image: Catherine O'Sullivan / SWNS) "He can be quite stubborn and determined when he wants. If he couldn't get somewhere he would decide to walk it and not be phased by it.

"We are so close as a family and would be in contact all the time - throughout the night he went missing he was still checking in and saying what time he was going to get home.

"His ambition has been to do a law conversion course in Bristol. He was in a good place and had done his exams two weeks before he went missing.

"The law school sent us his result and he did really well. He was in the best place so far in his life. That's why nothing adds up in terms of how unjust this all is."