The tenth anniversary of the tragic drowning of a four year-old boy who was swept from Burnham-On-Sea jetty in 2012 was marked on Friday evening (August 19th).
Dylan Cecil was on a family holiday in Burnham-On-Sea when he tragically died on August 19th, 2012.
Family, friends and members of the Burnham’s Coastguard, BARB and RNLI crews gathered besides a memorial plaque on the sea wall in his memory at 6pm – the exact time that the boy was lost to the sea a decade ago.
Dylan’s grandparents, Jackie and Dave McCollum, pictured, thanked all those present for their “wonderful warm kindness and support over the last ten years.”
Flowers and ballons were brought to the seafront to mark the anniversary.
After his death, a memorial fund was formed to help under-privileged children and their families by providing respite holidays in the south west.
On Sunday (August 21st), local motorbikers will also take part in a bike run to raise cash for the memorial fund. The bikes will arrive on Burnham seafront at around 12.30pm outside the Coastguard / BARB station.Â
The crews were called out on August 19th, 2012 following reports of a young boy in the water next to Burnham’s jetty. The Cecil family had been 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.
Burnham Coastguards, RNLI and BARB crews undertook a full-scale search in an attempt to find him until Dylan’s body was sadly found by a walker washed up near the yacht club on August 23rd, 2012.
A number of safety enhancements were introduced in Burnham-On-Sea in the wake of the tragedy, including improved jetty signage, an audible warning system at the jetty building, and enhanced lifeguarding during the busy summer holidays.
