The family of 14-year-old Louis Simpson have paid tribute to their “beautiful, beautiful boy” after his body was recovered following a barn fire at a £2m country estate.
Simpson had been missing since the blaze at Fairhurst Hill, Parbold, Lancashire, on Sunday afternoon. He was with a group of friends at the barn when the fire broke out, Lancashire police said.
His friends were located but Louis’s body was recovered by firefighters on Monday evening after a 24-hour search, the force confirmed.
In a tribute, Louis’ parents said: “It is with deep regret and heartbreak that we can confirm the tragic loss of our beautiful, beautiful boy Louis James Simpson.
“We are all truly devastated but want to thank our amazing family and friends for their ongoing love and support. We ask that our privacy is respected at this extremely difficult time.”
Former Liverpool FC star Jamie Carragher also paid tribute to Louis on social media. The football pundit posted a picture of the teenager with his son, James, and wrote: “Absolutely devastated as a family about the news today about Louis, remember a cracking footballer for the school, holidaying with the family in Ibiza & staying over for his & James’s birthday. Most of all a great kid. R.I.P son you’ll never be forgotten.”
A spokeswoman for Lancashire police said there did not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, which took three hours to get under control.
The force said: “After an extensive search of the area a body was recovered from the barn last night. While yet to be formally identified, the body is sadly believed to be Louis.
“Louis’ family have been informed this morning and they are being supported by specially trained officers. Our thoughts are with them at this time. Inquiries are continuing to establish what has happened and what caused the fire. However, at this stage there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.
“A postmortem examination will be carried out to try to establish the cause of death and a file will be passed to the coroner in due course.”
