Police have released new CCTV images showing the last known whereabouts of Noah Woods, as police divers search a lake for the missing three-year-old.

The toddler, who is non-verbal, partially deaf and being assessed for autism, vanished from a playground in the tiny village of Brantham, Suffolk, yesterday.

Hundreds of people have gathered to try and find the boy as part of a major search operation, which has since entered its second day, after he went missing at 3pm on Tuesday.

Police have said the search remains a missing persons investigation with 'nothing to indicate anything sinister or any element of criminality', but they are keeping an open mind. They added the operation is made more complex as Noah will not respond to his name being called on account of him being non-verbal.

CCTV images show Noah, wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, shorts and black Vans trainers, playing on a roundabout in the park at 2.37pm in Merriam Close near his home.

He is believed to have run off from a relative shortly afterwards, before disappearing down an alleyway that leads to a new-build housing estate, a pond and a railway line.

Since this morning, up to a thousand volunteers from near and far have spent hours scouring the area in coordinated groups. 

Residents have been urged to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings, and those with CCTV or doorbell cameras have been asked to review the footage.

Noah's devastated father, Rhys Woods, has pleaded with the public to help, saying he 'cannot go another night knowing he's out there alone' and urging people not to give up hope.

This morning, police cordoned off a lake, known as Decoy Pond, as well as a footpath beside the playground, while a helicopter hovered overhead and circled around the area.

The public has been urged not to go onto the train line or to Decoy Pond as they look for Noah 'due to specialist searching in the area'. Police divers could be seen in aerial footage as they prepared to search the lake.

Posting to Facebook, Noah's father Mr Woods said: 'We still have nothing, all the emergency services and all of you have shown how strong this community is, with people coming from far and wide also.'

'The emergency services are very confident that the high risk areas (Decoy pond, railway lines) are all clear.'

'This means knowing our boy, he has gone even further, could I ask that all of you brilliant people out there today expand further if you are able to?'

'I cannot go another night knowing he's out there alone, please don't give up on him guys. He is out there somewhere and I appreciate every single one of you.'

Noah's great-uncle, Tony Malcolm, who was part of the search team, described him as 'a lovely little kid'.

On Wednesday, volunteers could be seen in hi-vis jackets helping to search the area, with efforts being co-ordinated from the village hall and a local leisure centre. 

Searchers were briefed at the village hall by parish clerk, Sarah Keys, who told them: 'Please remember we are searching for a frightened three-year-old boy.'

They have been told not to grab or approach Noah if they find him, but instead to call police on 999 immediately and give their exact location using the What3Words app. 

Ms Keys said around 500 people had stayed up all night to carry on searching for Noah. 

Today, search efforts are being assisted by helicopters from the National Police Air Service and HM Coastguard, as well as ground manpower from HM Coastguard, Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service and Suffolk Lowland Search & Rescue.

The village hall stayed open during the night, and the council also printed out hundreds of maps for volunteers to use in their searches.

Ms Keys said: 'There were about 1,000 people out at one point. I think local people are just feeling devastated. Everyone just wants to pull together and help.'

Officers have also been seen going door-to-door at the nearby Taylor Wimpey housing estate to ask if residents have checked their doorbell cameras and gardens. 

A police officer, who was putting up more tape along the edge of a nearby wooded area, said the area was 'out of bounds' to members of the public. 

Superintendent Tom Pearse said: 'It has now been around 24 hours since Noah was reported as missing to us and we are doing everything we can to find him.

'We are extremely grateful for the support shown by the public. If you are helping please report into the co-ordination centre to ensure the search continues to be done in a systematic and co-ordinated fashion.

'This will ensure we can carefully plan and take account of people supporting the search. We politely ask people to avoid open waters and railways - these are areas that require specialist and professional expertise.

'We also ask that personal drones are not used as these can interfere with specialist search equipment.'

Mr Pearse continued: 'This is being treated as a missing person investigation at this stage and there is nothing to indicate anything sinister or any element of criminality has taken place although we keep an open mind as to the circumstances.

'We continue to call on local residents to please check your gardens, sheds and outbuildings, or any other place a child may have be hidden or sought shelter.'

'Please also review CCTV or doorbell cameras, and for motorists travelling in and around Brantham to review any dashcam footage from 3pm yesterday.'

He added that a number of people had contacted the police after finding children's hats and toys, but that the force is not aware of Noah wearing any hats or carrying any other items when he was last seen. 

Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk Tim Passmore urged those joining the ongoing searches not to go out alone and to get direction from those organising the response.

Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, he said his 'thoughts and prayers' are with friends and family of Noah Woods.

He said: 'As time goes by I really hope we can get some good news. I can't think of anything worse than a poor little three-year-old lad going missing and not being found.'

He later thanked emergency services and the 'army of Suffolk citizens' for their assistance, adding: 'This is an extremely distressing situation which has rocked communities in Suffolk.'

'In the forefront of our minds is Noah's family, our thoughts and prayers are with them. Without a doubt, everything possible is being done to find Noah.'

Dozens of locals gathered at the village hall from 8.30am in the hope of getting a police briefing about where to search, but many decided to head off on their own before a senior officer arrived to talk to them.

Ms Keys told the crowd: 'I know your feet are itching to go out and look for that little boy. We just want to find him.'

Around 200 locals who had arrived at the hall by around 9.30am were split into two groups with fitter people being allocated to search muddy tracks and fields while others were told to concentrate on the paved areas of the village.

South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge said on X that he and the local police force are 'incredibly grateful to the community and all of the volunteers for their help with the search for missing Noah'.

In an earlier post, he called the toddler's disappearance 'incredibly concerning', adding: 'I simply can't imagine what his family and loved ones are going through, but they will be in the thoughts of us all'.

Superintendent Pete Partridge said in a statement: 'We are very concerned for Noah's welfare and need to find him as a matter of urgency.

'A vast number of resources have been deployed by ourselves, our emergency services colleagues and volunteers from SULSAR (Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue).'

'These resources have been bolstered by members of the public who have turned out in large numbers to assist and we are incredibly grateful for their help and support.'

'Given that fast-moving nature of the investigation, it is important that any public searches are co-ordinated with police to ensure we are working together, and that our resources are directed where they can be most effective.'

Yesterday, a Coastguard helicopter was seen circling the village, which is near the estuary of the River Stour.

And passengers on trains between Manningtree and Ipswich were told that their services would be run at a reduced speed because of the searches. 

Volunteers from Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue used a boat to search Decoy Pond, the local beauty spot Noah was seen running towards.

Police dog units joined the search overnight, and thermal imaging cameras were deployed.

Just before midnight, volunteers who joined the hunt were told to go home for the night and rest, but many remained on the streets. 

In a Facebook post just after 5am on Wednesday, Brantham Parish Council said there had been no confirmed sightings of Noah.

'The search for Noah continues this morning,' the post said.

'If you are able to help with the search today, please keep safe and take care of yourselves. 

'Search in pairs where possible, wear high-vis clothing and take extra care around roads, water, woodland and other potentially dangerous areas. Please take a fully charged mobile phone with you.'

Last night, Brantham Parish Council said: 'We have been completely overwhelmed by the support received from the Brantham community and from visitors from far and wide and our thanks go to the emergency services and all the volunteers who have joined the search so far.'

Kevin Gray, 32, of Essex, and his brother Shane Barnett, 39, took a day off from their gardening business to join the search.

Mr Gray said: 'I came out last night until 11.45pm. There were so hundreds of people out looking which was amazing.'

'You looked across the field and all you could see were torches and some people driving around with headlights on. I decided I had to come back today and help.'

Sharon Auton, 60, said she went out to help once she saw the news on social media on Tuesday afternoon.

The foster carer, of Brantham, said: 'This morning we came out again and then there were so many people just wandering around, it should be more co-ordinated and that's what's happening here (at the village hall).'

She said it was 'amazing how much the community has got together over this'.

She said that at the village hall people were split into groups, given maps and sent to search different areas.

She said she wanted to 'help find this little boy', adding: 'It's just tragic he's been lost, I'm hoping he will be found safe and well.'

Lisa Clarke, 44, of Ipswich, Suffolk, who also joined the search, said: 'It's heartbreaking. You just feel you have got to do something. I am neuro-diverse myself and I realise how vulnerable is. It just brings it all home.'

One police officer manning the cordon last night urged the public to allow officers to get on with the job themselves. 

He told the Harwich and Manningtree Standard: 'We have been given information and we want to search this bit with our teams now that we have got the teams here.'

'You've got dog units looking for any sort of tracks, and then we've got thermal imaging going throughout the wooded area.'

'At this time of night with this light, it's harder for members of the public – we want to make sure we can do that with all of our equipment we've got.'

'The more people we have got in there [in the woodland] the harder it is going to be for us, especially with scents – if there is a scent or a track or anything like that, we don't want that to be changed in any way.'

'If there are people in there, the thermal imaging is going to pick up them as opposed to obviously all of our goal to find the little man.'

Suffolk Police is asking anyone who believes they have seen Noah or may know where he is is asked to contact them.

Members of the public can submit information on the force's online portal, or call 0800 051 6076.