A London-based actress has joined the campaign to put pressure on Malaysian authorities for the search of Briton Gareth Huntley, who has been gone missing in the jungles of Tioman Island for six days now.

British television soap opera actress Sophie Austin has taken to Twitter over the last few days, directly appealing to media personnel and outlets in Malaysia to highlight Huntley's plight.

“Please help #findgareth, ... we need your support please," Austin ( left ) said in her Twitter posting to news portal Malaysiakini , government broadcaster RTM and internet TV 1MalaysiaTV.

Aside from Twitter, supporters have also taken to Facebook in the campaign to find Huntley, with a Facebook page named "Find Gareth Huntley" garnering 7,000 supporters in a matter of three days.

Huntley's disappearance was not prominently reported in the local media until the Britsh media highlighted the matter last Saturday, after which it picked up in Malaysia.

Family members and friends have claimed in the British media that Malaysian authorities are being lethargic in their action, prompting the police to refute that it was not serious and that it had promptly informed the British High Commission.

The search has since intensified, with British Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond, who is visiting Malaysia, saying that the matter was being taken seriously.

Huntley, from London, has not been seen since a short trek to a waterfall on Tioman Island last Tuesday.

The trained accountant was working as a volunteer for the Juara Turtle Project, a wildlife conservation programme, in Kampung Juara on the eastern shore of Tioman Island.