POLICE searching for an eight-year-old boy who fell in the River Wear a week ago have called in an academic who specialises in rivers.

Ian Bell, from Sunnybrow, County Durham, was playing with friends last Friday evening when he fell into the swollen waters.

Despite extensive searches he has not been found.

Officers co-ordinating the hunt are liaising with a professor who is an expert in rivers and flowing water, with the aim of directing efforts in specific directions.

Contact has also been made with police in South Yorkshire, with a view to drafting in police dogs with specialist search skills.

A police spokesman said the force was seeking their guidance on when it will be appropriate to deploy these dogs.

Chief Inspector Graham Milne said: "We are still doing everything we can to find Ian, but sadly there doesn't seem any likelihood that we'll find him alive.

"All we want now is to bring him home to his family."

Since last weekend, teams of officers have been involved in the search for Ian, backed up by the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, the Weardale and Teesdale Search and Mountain Rescue, and volunteers from the local community.