Family of killed teenager Dylan Price face first Christmas without him and without answers

After three months of heartache and questions, Dylan Price’s family are still no closer to finding out what happened to the 17-year-old.

Dylan, a keen rugby player with Shrewsbury Colts, was killed the day before his 18th birthday, hit by a vehicle while walking along the B4385 Brampton Road in Bishop’s Castle, during the early hours of September 19.

His death led to an outpouring of grief from friends and the community, with the streets of Bishop’s Castle lined for his funeral.

Dylan’s mother Louise, from Dorrington, has faced the tragedy while enduring her own ordeal, undergoing five weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy sessions to treat her cervical cancer.

She will also have to undergo another operation next year.

Her marriage to her partner Steven Bristow has also been postponed, with Dylan no longer able to give her away as planned.

There has also been the frustration of seeing an arrest in the case come to nothing, with police releasing the person arrested and ruling them out of their inquiries.

For Dylan’s family there has been comfort from the response of those who knew him, with the teenager leaving a lasting legacy through his kindness and force of personality.

It was in evidence in the support for a fundraiser in his memory, initially set up to raise £100 to help his family, it reached more than £18,000.

This will be the first Christmas without Dylan and his family have taken the decision not to spend the day at home as usual, and will instead go out to a pub for lunch – to spare some of the painful memories of the 17-year-old’s “favourite time of the year”.

Louise said: “We are a family that have always done everything together. For Christmas normally I would cook, everyone would come around on Christmas Eve, we would have some karaoke, they would have a present – because they could not wait any longer – and we would all be in matching pyjamas.”

Dylan’s sister Izzy, 23, said it is a struggle for the whole family, but that she was focused on trying to make it the best for her daughter, Dylan’s five-year-old niece, Azaylia.

She said: “We are such a close family, it is not going to be the same. Normally I am super organised for Christmas but this year I have no major interest, I am just trying to make it special for Azaylia.

“We just feel deflated because that was his favourite time of the year.”

Dylan’s other sister, Livi, 21, said they were trying to do their best to stay positive – because that’s what her brother would have wanted.

She said: “He hated people being sad and he would do anything to cheer you up if he could.”

Louise added: “When you talk about Dylan you can’t help but smile, we have got so many happy memories. Everyone has their own and there are so many stories.”

Louise spoke of the difficulty of what was ultimately a false dawn in the investigation, with the arrest of a man from Bishop’s Castle, who was ultimately found to have had nothing to do with Dylan’s death.

She said: “Because there was an arrest people presumed it was dealt with. When I would go to the hospital appointments people have said they have seen the news but I have been like ‘no, they did not have anything to do with it’.”

She added: “There are so many rumours too and that has been really hard.

“Someone does know, they did it, or someone knows someone who is acting completely differently. We thought that in the first couple of days they would come forward but there has been nothing.

“Just please, if you do know anything, contact the police.”

Anyone with any information can call 101 or visit the West Mercia Police website at westmercia.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about.

Alternatively, people can speak 100 per cent anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.