An eight-year-old boy sparked a police search after he went missing while on a trip to Adventure Island in Southend yesterday (Tuesday).

He was with his older brother and two friends when he became separated from the others, who looked for him but could not find him anywhere.

His brother contacted the mother of a friend, who alerted Southend police. Officers failed to find him and planned a full search. However, when officers turned up at the child's home in Whitegate Road, Southend, they found the youngster waiting at the door.

He told police he had found his way home when he became separated but there had been no one at the house so he had gone to a friend's home to wait until someone came back.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.