Boy of 12 'crushed by collapsing cargo pile'

The body of a 12-year-old boy was discovered yesterday evening in an industrial area of Scunthorpe after a massive police search.

Sam Fewster died in what appeared to be a tragic accident. Search teams found his body in the yard of a freight company, crushed beneath a pile of cargo that had collapsed and trapped him.

Humberside Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with his death. A formal identification was last night taking place at Scunthorpe General Hospital. His parents and 15-year-old sister have been informed.

A police spokeswoman said that an investigation would be carried out into the events leading to the boy's death. "This is a tragic accident and we are treating it as so," she said. "There is going to be an investigation but the police are not looking for any involvement from anybody else."

Police searching for the missing boy had earlier found his discarded jacket in the industrial estate. They had thought that he may have found his way into an outbuilding.

Officers and members of the public spent the day scouring woodland and open fields surrounding Poplars caravan park, where Sam had been seen playing at 7pm on Sunday night – the last sighting of the boy.

A police spokeswoman said that "every available officer" had been involved in the search, which was aided by a police helicopter, dog handlers and the boy's family.