The grieving mother of a young man who was found dead after going missing for several weeks praised the police.

Abigail Summerfield’s son Bradley Porter suddenly disappeared in August and she spent more than a month worrying about his wellbeing.

On September 17, six weeks after the 25-year-old was last seen at his girlfriend's house on Penhill Drive and left his possessions behind, police carried out extensive searches of Elgin Industrial Estate and found a body.

Specially trained officers have been supporting Bradley’s family in the days since this tragic discovery.

Shortly after Bradley first went missing, Abigail spoke to the Adver to share her concerns about his sudden disappearance, noting how unusual it was that he had not posted on social media or visited the gym where he was a regular.

She got in touch with this newspaper this week as she wished to give her thoughts on how Wiltshire Police has handled the missing person investigation.

Abigail said: “My family and I are very happy with the police and will be forever grateful because they did an amazing job.

“Sometimes things can be done differently but it was very difficult for the police as they had to deal with a lot of people who were gossiping and giving false information, which was not their fault, and led to a lot of wasted time and police power.

“They did find him and bring him back but, unfortunately, I lost my boy.

“I also want to say thank you to the newspaper and let people know that my family and I are very thankful for what the Advertiser did and the care they took when talking to us and treating this sensitively.”

The full circumstances of Bradley's death are still being determined.

Wiltshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith said: “Our officers continue to work with members of Bradley’s family supporting them where possible.

“We have referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for them to consider whether they need to conduct an investigation into our response to locate Bradley.

"However, they have determined that this is not required.  

"We are conducting our own internal review of the enquiries undertaken to locate Bradley.

“Our enquiries to determine how Bradley died continue and we will prepare a file with evidence for the coroner.”