Flowers were laid on Burnham-On-Sea’s sea wall this week to mark what would have been the tenth birthday of Dylan Cecil, a four year-old boy who died almost six years ago after being swept from the town’s jetty.
Flowers and a birthday card were laid by the family next to a plaque in his memory on Burnham’s South Esplanade.
Burnham’s marine rescue crews were called out on August 19th, 2012 at 6pm following reports of a young boy in the water next to Burnham’s jetty.
The Cecil family were in the area visiting family and had decided to go for a trip to the beach when tragedy struck.
Tragically, while he was playing in the shallow water on the jetty, four-year-old Dylan slipped and fell into the sea.
His mother and father attempted to rescue him by jumping into the water and also nearly became victims of the strong incoming tidal currents. Within seconds, Dylan had been carried out to sea.
Coastguards, RNLI and BARB crewmembers undertook a full-scale search in an attempt to find the missing boy but he was not found. The teams returned every day until Dylan’s body was sadly found washed up by a walker near the yacht club on August 23rd, 2012.
