Burnham reacts to Dylan flag outrage (From This is The West Country)

Burnham reacts to Dylan flag outrage

3:10pm Wednesday 5th September 2012 in News

A MYSTERY vandal who tore down a flag flying at half mast for Dylan Cecil has been branded “the lowest of the low”.

Burnham and Highbridge has been in mourning since four-year-old Dylan was swept out to sea after falling off Burnham jetty on August 19.

Police have launched a public appeal this week to catch the culprit who ripped the Union Jack flag off a pole at the jetty on August 22 - the day before Dylan's body was recovered.

Burnham and Highbridge Mayor Ken Smout said: “Whatever their motives were, it matters little. They showed a total lack of thought for the family and the people in the town who were grieving for a four-year-old lad.

“It's difficult to see how you could get much lower. The timing was deplorable and you just wonder about the mentality of somebody who would do that.

“I would urge people, if they know anything about this, to go to the police because this was a low act.”

Fellow town councillor Helen Groves added: “The flag was clearly cut off rather than taken down and I was quite horrified that anybody would behave in such a manner.

“Anybody in the town, whether they are a parent or not, would be appalled.

“This town cares deeply and there's been tremendous support for the Cecil family.

“I haven't encountered anybody who hasn't been deeply affected.”

Police said the flag was taken at around midday on August 22. Anybody with information should call police, quoting crime reference 92079/12.