Tributes paid to Essex schoolboy found dead at Welsh beauty spot

Tragic: Paddy Dear was a pupil at Campion School in Hornchurch, Essex
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Hannah Al-Othman18 March 2016

A schoolboy who went missing on a field trip to Wales has been found dead at a beauty spot.

Classmates and teachers have paid tribute to Paddy Dear, 16, after his body was discovered at the bottom of a cliff near Milford Havern in the early hours of this morning.

The popular 16-year-old was a pupil at Campion School, in Hornchurch, Essex.

The Catholic science academy held a special mass this morning to remember the "keen sportsman" who was "fully involved" in the school.

Headteacher Keith Williams said: “Paddy was a wonderful young man who was fully involved in the life of the school.

"As a keen sportsman, he was very proud of representing the school in a range of sports but most notably rugby.

“He was a popular, very friendly and caring young man who had the whole world ahead of him.

"Nobody had a bad word to say about him and he never had a bad word for anyone else.

“His team members remember him as a talented, all round sportsman, loved by all who got to know him, fantastic company and the life and soul of any party.

“He was a typical Campion student who gave everything he could to the school community.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends who have been devastated by this news.

“The school is offering support to his friends through counselling and guidance from staff and priests who are with us today."

Police made the tragic find after carrying out searches of cliffs at the remote Dale Fort study centre, which is visited by thousands of students each year.

A Dyfed Powys spokesman said: “Police can confirm that the teenager who was tragically found dead in Dale early this morning was 16 year old Patrick “Paddy” Dear from Essex.

"Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death and would appeal for anyone who was in the Dale area late yesterday evening, and may have information which could help the investigation, to contact Haverfordwest Police on 101.”

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