'We don't know where he is,' relatives of Sir Ranulph Fiennes tell BBC

Family and friends of British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes have said they have not been able to visit or contact him for months.

His former sister-in-law Arabella Pepper told BBC Newsnight that she did not know where he was, and nobody had been able to see him.

"All his friends and family want to see him and take him Toblerones and cheer him up, but we don't know where is," she said.

It has been alleged that Sir Ranulph, 82, has been admitted to a number of care homes under assumed names, after a family rift involving his second wife, Louise Millington-Cotes.

Sir Ranulph's stepson, Alex Millington-Cotes, said he wanted to see the power of attorney "removed from my own mother" and placed in the hands of people who "have fully his best interests in mind".

Louise Millington-Cotes did not immediately respond to the allegations, or the BBC's request for comment.