THE parents of a North Yorkshire diver who is missing and presumed dead off the Scottish coast have still not lost hope of seeing their son alive.

The parents of Mark Mason, 37, from Harrogate, have told members of his diving club that they remain hopeful despite the chances of finding their son alive diminishing every hour.

Mr Mason, who was single, was lost as he dived on the Glanmire wreck, off the coast of Eyemouth, north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on Sunday.

Lothian and Borders Police said that the search has been "scaled right down" after an extensive search failed to find Mr Mason. They have confirmed that he is now classed as missing presumed dead.

Mr Mason, a member of the 80-strong Harrogate Sub-Aqua Club for just over a year, was one of seven club members who travelled to Scotland for the dive.

Today the other members of the group and the rest of the club are trying to come to terms with what happened, and they are planning to meet as usual on Thursday evening.

A club spokesman, Brian Goldthorpe, said Mr Mason's family had still not given up hope.

He said: "His family are still treating him as missing, in the hopes that he will turn up.

"We are all very sad about this situation obviously, even more so because neither Mark or his body have been found.

"Mark was a well-liked member of the club and had been recently appointed honorary treasurer.

"Mark had taken part in several dives during the year, and he had been trained before he joined the club.

"I think it is fair to say that he loved diving.

"Every dive carries a certain degree of risk, but through our training we aim to minimise those risks.

"At the present moment, as Mark is still missing, we are supporting each other in dealing with the emotions of this event.

"The club is playing an active role to help people through this difficult situation."

Mr Mason was returning from a dive within the marine reserve at St Abbs when his buddy, or diving partner, became separated from him.

On Monday an extensive search of the area around Eyemouth and St Abbs in the Scottish Borders was co-ordinated by the Coastguard Agency, including the Eyemouth and St Abbs Lifeboats, an underwater search team, a coastal search team and an RAF Hercules aircraft.

With deteriorating weather conditions in the area, a scaled-down search is continuing to look for him.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "We are scaling down the search for him, it has been scaled right down.

"They have done a search around the wreck and he's not there. Visibility is so poor that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. But they will follow the search up."

Updated: 09:11 Wednesday, November 28, 2001