Published: August 21, 2012
Dylan Cecil's mother explains how she tried in vain to save son

The mother of the four-year-old boy who slipped into the sea off Burnham's jetty has explained how the incident unfolded.

Young Dylan Cecil fell from the jetty at Burnham on Sunday evening, prompting a huge rescue operation involving lifeboats, hovercraft, Coastguards and helicopters, which resumed on Tuesday.

Dylan's mother, Rachel McCollum, said: "He was literally not even a metre away from me and he was jumping and slipped basically and I watched him fall in, jumped in straight after him, what more could I do?"

"I knew as soon as I jumped in I wasn't getting him back. It was a whirlpool. It dragged me, I could feel myself being pulled under. I don't know what my son went through, I really don't."

Speaking of her son, she described him as "the most gorgeous boy, perfect in every single way."

She thanked everybody who has helped in the search operation and also asked people to report any possible sightings of his body to the police.

She added: "I just don't want him to be lost out there and not come back at all."