The grieving family of Luke Howe have set up a fundraiser in his memory, for the special educational needs school he attended.

Luke (14), described by his family as vulnerable due to his autism, went missing from his grandparents’ home in Hale last Thursday.

Emergency services, together with dozens of local residents, had been searching the area for more than 18 hours when Luke’s body was found in the River Bollin.

Following his death, his aunty, Jessica Howe, launched a GoFundMe page in his memory.

The fundraiser has already reached £47,000 after generous donations from members of the public.

Cash will go towards new equipment and a soft play at Brentwood College – a school for children with special educational needs where Luke attended.

Jessica said: “Speaking with his sister, Lydia, we want to focus now on doing something positive in Luke’s name and we have decided we would love to fundraise for his school, Brentwood College, in memory of his name.

“Brentwood is an outstanding school for SEND pupils with additional needs and we are hoping to fundraise for new soft play for the school for anyone who would like to contribute as, in his sister’s words, there was nothing he loved more.”