Sian O'Callaghan was the girl next door with everything to look forward to.

The office worker was at the happiest point of her life, having recently moved in with her boyfriend of three years Kevin Reape.

Family members described Miss O'Callaghan as someone who was liked by everyone and who wanted to be a mother.

"Sian was a bubbly, friendly, caring and loving girl. She was instantly likeable, beautiful and considerate," Mick O'Callaghan, her father, said.

For that reason they immediately feared the worst after finding out the pretty brunette was missing.

On the night of March 18 2011 Miss O'Callaghan had gone out with girlfriends in the Old Town area of Swindon.

At 2.52am she was captured on CCTV leaving Suju's nightclub - less than half a mile from the flat she shared with Mr Reape.

When she failed to return home, her boyfriend sent her a text, saying:
"Worried x."

The following morning when she still had not got home or phoned to say she was OK, Mr Reape, fearing the worst, called the police.

Caught up in the media spotlight, Mr Reape, a quantity surveyor, spoke of his "lively, bubbly" girlfriend as he appealed for her to come home.

"I just want to say how very worried we are about Sian," he said.

"It's not like her not to come home or contact any of us for such a long time. Sian is a lively, bubbly person who is instantly liked by everyone she meets.

"She's very close to her family and has lots of friends."

Miss O'Callaghan's mother, Elaine, described a happy-go-lucky daughter who was totally in love with her boyfriend.

"She loved kids and would have loved to have her own. She would have been an excellent mum," she said.

"She had a very happy nature. She lived for the day. I can't think of any times when she was short-tempered. She was always upbeat.

"Sian lit up her room with her bubbly, outgoing, happy, optimistic nature. She would help anyone she could and was simply delightful to be around and to know."

Divorcee Mrs O'Callaghan, who lives with her partner Pete Shawe, spoke lovingly of her daughter's relationship with Mr Reape.

"They had a lovely relationship - they were very together but had their own space. Not like some couples always up and down," she said.

"I actually could not understand what took them so long to move in together. It was about three years before they decided to move in together in January."

Miss O'Callaghan grew up with her mother Elaine, father Mick, brothers Liam and Aidan, and sister Lora in Swindon.

After leaving school she later worked as a personal assistant at Constructor Group UK.

Liam O'Callaghan said: "She had a spring in her step which she took everywhere and was an inspiration to all who knew her.

"I am honoured to have been her brother and will cherish the memories I have and shared with my sis.

"I miss our random chats and sharing of views on stuff which meant nothing in particular but now feels so important."

Miss O'Callaghan's grandmother, Peggy Pearce, added: "Sian was so happy and had her whole life to look forward to with her boyfriend Kevin. She had only just moved in with Kevin when tragedy struck."