Police find body of sea tragedy boy

Dylan Cecil was on holiday with his family when he disappeared under the muddy water at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, at 6pm on Sunday.

His family, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, said while they are still traumatised they are grateful to have his body back so they can bury him properly.

Experts had warned on Wednesday that his body could have been washed out to sea after a search with specialist sonar equipment turned up no trace.

The body was found near a yacht club in the town at 12.30pm yesterday by a member of the public yesterday at the high tide mark on the mudflats next to a row of sailing boats at the mouth of the River Brue.

Dylan’s grandparents, David and Jackie McCollum, visited the spot and quietly placed a rose on the ground.

Earlier they, along with other members of Dylan’s family, had been at the jetty next to the beach where a huge pile of flowers, candles and soft toys have been placed.

Superintendent Keith McCoubrey, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “Although there has been no formal identification as yet, I do strongly believe that to be the body of Dylan Cecil, the little four-year-old boy who was tragically lost here on Sunday.”

President of the yacht club Dave Humphrey, 65, said the body was found only 500 yards from where Dylan went missing. “There’s hopefully now some closure for the family,” he said.