The body of an 8-year-old boy has been found, more than a week after he fell into a river in County Durham.
Ian Bell slipped into the River Wear near Crook while playing with friends.
Frances Read reports from the banks of the River Wear, close to where the body of the missing 8-year-old was found.
After nine days of searching the River Wear police confirm they have found the body of eight-year-old Ian Bell
Read the full storyDurham Police said the body was recovered downstream from Page Bank Bridge.
A spokesman said:
We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Ian's family at this difficult period.
Durham Constabulary would also like to thank all those involved in the search for Ian and ask that the family is left in peace at this very sad time.
A body found in a river is that of missing eight-year-old Ian Bell, Durham Police said tonight.
A spokesman for Durham Police said Ian's family had been informed of the discovery. He said:
Arrangements are being made for formal identification to take place and the coroner has been informed. An inquest will be held in due course.
The search is now in the process of being scaled down as Durham Constabulary has no other reports of missing persons at this time.
Durham Constabulary would like to thank all those involved in the search for their help and their support
Teams, searching for the missing eight year old Ian Bell, have discovered a body. Ian slipped into the River Wear a week ago on Friday, while playing with friends. A huge search has taken place since then involving the emergency services and local people.
Police say a body has been found at Page Bank Bridge near Willington, close to where Ian disappeared. Formal identification has yet to take place.
Police searching for 8 year old 8 Ian Bell say a boys body has been found in the river close to where he is thought to have fallen in.
From @kennytoalitv on Twitter:Police are carrying out more searches of the River Wear, in efforts to find a missing boy. Ian Bell slipped into the water near Wilington in County Durham while playing with friends. Police have begun targeted searches of sections of the river, after taking advice from an expert.
The search continues for missing Ian Bell but police say it is unlikely he remains alive.
Ian, eight, from Sunnybrow, County Durham, went missing last weekend after falling into the River Wear at Willington.
Since then Police, the Fire Service, Weardale Search and Rescue as well as hundreds of volunteers have been searching the river for him.
But there has been no sign.
Chief Inspector Graham Milne, leading the search, said: "We are still doing everything we can to find Ian but sadly there doesn't seem any likelihood that we will find him alive.
"All we want now is to bring him home to his family."
A spokesman for Durham Police said officers had contacted an expert in rivers and flowing waters as well as specially trained police dogs from South Yorkshire to help them with the search.
The mother of a boy who has been missing for almost a week after falling into the River Wear has spoken for the first time since the incident.
Ian Bell, 8, from Sunnybrow went missing last Friday. His mother, Claire Bell, says she still hopes he will be found.
"We still have hope in our hearts that Ian will be found soon and just want to find him and bring him home.
"I have always made sure he was aware of the dangers when playing nearby to the river. We are all devastated that we may never find Ian, but we will always have hope and will continue to search for him.
"Our friends and neighbours have been fantastic over the last few days and we would like to thank everyone involved in the search for their help, it means such a lot to the family during this extremely difficult time that we have the support of our tight knit community."
Yesterday the search for the little boy was scaled down by authorities, but the search by the local community is ongoing.
Hundreds of community volunteers have been searching into the night to find the eight-year-old and have rallied around the family to offer comfort.
