Search police find body of boy in river

Police searching for a missing schoolboy who fell into a river have discovered a body.

Ian Bell, 8, fell into the swollen River Wear near Willington, County Durham, on 27 April.

Durham Police said that the body of a young boy had been found downstream from Page Bank Bridge. A spokesman for Durham Police said Ian’s family had been informed.

He added: “Arrangements are being made for formal identification to take place and the coroner has been informed. An inquest will be held in due course.”

Ian, from Sunnybrow, County Durham, was playing with friends when he was swept away. Search specialists joined police and dozens of members of the public to look for the schoolboy, without success.