FRIENDS and family of a missing boy last night released Chinese lanterns near the area where he fell into a river a week ago.

Ian Bell fell into the River Wear near his home in Sunnybrow, County Durham, on the evening of Friday, April 27.

Since then, police, rescue teams and hundreds of volunteers have been searching for the eight-year-old.

More than 16,700 people have joined a Facebook page set up to help with the search, and last night, friends and family planned to gather at the scene.

Other people, touched by the news, said they would also release lanterns across the region, including in Tow Law and Peterlee, County Durham, and in Dumfries, Scotland.

They said Ian was still in their thoughts and prayers, and that the search would go on until he was found.

On Wednesday, police said they were scaling back the search, but volunteers are continuing to scour the length of the river.

Ian had been playing with friends when he fell into the river, which was swollen and fast-flowing after heavy downpours.

Police co-ordinating the hunt are taking advice from a professor who is an expert in rivers, with the aim of predicting where Ian might be.

Searches have been carried out between Willington and Chester-le-Street, but the police say it is extremely unlikely Ian will be found unharmed.

Contact has also been made with officers in South Yorkshire Police, with a view to drafting in police dogs to help the search.

Chief Inspector Graham Milne said: “We are still doing everything we can to find Ian, but sadly there does not seem any likelihood that we will find him alive.

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

Durham Fire Brigade and the Weardale and Teesdale Search and Mountain Rescue Team have also been helping in the search, along with hundreds of people from the area.

Police have also urged volunteer searchers to stay safe and not go in the river.