THE mother of an eight-year- old boy who is missing nearly a week after falling into a river is still hoping he will return home.

Volunteers searching for Ian Bell hoped to have made a breakthrough after finding a child’s trainer in the River Wear near Prebends Bridge, in Durham City, last night.

The shoe was found about 13 miles downstream from where he fell in last Friday evening.

But police have said it was one of many items of clothing found in the river and at this point do not have any reason to believe it belongs to the boy.

Ian had been playing with friends near his home in Sunnybrow, Willington, when he fell into the river, which was swollen and fast-flowing due to heavy rainfall.

Last night, his mother, Claire Bell, spoke for the first time about her family’s ordeal.

She said: “We still have hope in our hearts that Ian will be found soon and we just want to find him and bring him home.

“I have always made sure he was aware of the dangers when playing near 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 and we would like to thank everyone involved in the search for their help. It means such a lot to the family that we have the support of our tightknit community.”

The shoe was found by volunteers at about the same time as police said they would be scaling back the search.

Neighbourhood chief inspector Graham Milne said the “heartfelt” decision to reduce the search had not been taken lightly and came after they sought expert advice and spoke to his parents.

He warned people still wanting to search to take care, and added: “The river is still full and the banks are slippery. We do not want to be diverted from the search for Ian to help someone else in difficulties in the river.”

He said police officers, divers and searchers with specialist camera equipment had searched the river between Willington and Chester-le-Street.

A police spokesman said anyone who finds anything that could be linked to Ian should contact police on 101.