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| Dylan Cecil's mother speaks of her pain at losing 'perfect' son at sea | Dylan Cecil's mother speaks of her pain at losing 'perfect' son at sea |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The mother of a four-year-old boy lost at sea after falling from a seafront jetty has spoken of the moment he disappeared under the water, saying she knew immediately that she would not see him again. | The mother of a four-year-old boy lost at sea after falling from a seafront jetty has spoken of the moment he disappeared under the water, saying she knew immediately that she would not see him again. |
| Rachel McCollum said Dylan Cecil fell into a "whirlpool" after slipping while just a yard away from her and his father during a family trip to Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. | Rachel McCollum said Dylan Cecil fell into a "whirlpool" after slipping while just a yard away from her and his father during a family trip to Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. |
| She dived straight into the muddy waters after him following the accident on Sunday, she told the BBC. "He was literally not even a metre away from me and he was jumping and slipped and I watched him fall in," she said. | She dived straight into the muddy waters after him following the accident on Sunday, she told the BBC. "He was literally not even a metre away from me and he was jumping and slipped and I watched him fall in," she said. |
| "I jumped in straight after him – what more could I do? He went, I knew as soon as I jumped in I was not getting him back. It was a whirlpool, it dragged me, I could feel myself being pulled under so I don't know what my son went through." | "I jumped in straight after him – what more could I do? He went, I knew as soon as I jumped in I was not getting him back. It was a whirlpool, it dragged me, I could feel myself being pulled under so I don't know what my son went through." |
| She thanked everyone who had searched for his body and implored people not to give up looking for her "gorgeous" and "bubbly" little boy. | She thanked everyone who had searched for his body and implored people not to give up looking for her "gorgeous" and "bubbly" little boy. |
| "I just want my son back," she added. "He is coming back, he's definitely coming back. I just don't want him to be lost out there and not come back at all." | "I just want my son back," she added. "He is coming back, he's definitely coming back. I just don't want him to be lost out there and not come back at all." |
| The youngster, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, was visiting his grandparents in nearby Brean with his mother, his father, Darren Cecil, and two younger sisters, aged one and three. | |
| He slipped off the side of the 19th-century jetty and disappeared beneath the muddy water at around 6pm. His parents desperately tried to rescue him, but were unable to reach their son and had to be pulled from the water by passersby. | |
| A large search was launched by the coastguard and police after a member of the public saw Dylan's parents attempting to rescue him. But the search for Dylan, who was dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, was called off at 4.30pm on Tuesday. | |
| A growing pile of flowers, cuddly toys and tributes has been placed on the sea wall next to the jetty. On Tuesday night, hundreds of candles were lit at the scene in his memory. | |
| Earlier on in the day, a Facebook page carrying a post apparently pretending to be from Dylan was removed after his mother said she had been "destroyed" by the comments. | |
| Writing on her own Facebook page, McCollum said: "How low can people be? I tried saving my son and a page [is] set up speaking like they are him. I'm distraught he is still missing at sea, I ain't slept at all and to find someone pretending to be my son has destroyed me even more." | |
| The page on the social network site was set up in Dylan's name and had two posts. The first said: "This is a memory page of Dylan that sadly lost his life, let's show the family we're thinking of them and sending our love. x." | |
| A second post read: "To my mum, my daddy and sisters and sea side grandparents I love you all am in heaven waiting on you all. I'll be looking down on you :-) x SENT FROM THE RAINBOW AND FLOWERS AND SUNSHINE IN HEAVEN … X." | |
| A spokesman for Facebook said: "The account in question has been removed as it violated our terms and conditions. | A spokesman for Facebook said: "The account in question has been removed as it violated our terms and conditions. |
| "Impersonating others is against our terms, and we encourage people to report such activity to Facebook via the reporting links located on every page of the site." | "Impersonating others is against our terms, and we encourage people to report such activity to Facebook via the reporting links located on every page of the site." |
| The waters off Burnham-on-Sea have one of the highest tidal rise and fall ranges in the world and the shoreline is notorious for its dangerous mudflats. | The waters off Burnham-on-Sea have one of the highest tidal rise and fall ranges in the world and the shoreline is notorious for its dangerous mudflats. |
| The local authority, Sedgemoor district council, said it was satisfied all its procedures were followed correctly and that there were many warning signs along the beach, esplanade and on the jetty hut. But it said it is also carrying out an internal review "to establish all relevant information". | The local authority, Sedgemoor district council, said it was satisfied all its procedures were followed correctly and that there were many warning signs along the beach, esplanade and on the jetty hut. But it said it is also carrying out an internal review "to establish all relevant information". |