I need to know who killed my son - mum of Dylan Price

Dylan Price, pictured with his sisters, died on 19 September 2021, a day before his 18th birthday

More than a year after 17-year-old Dylan Price was killed in a hit-and-run in Shropshire, his family have no answers as to who was responsible. After a cruel troll gave them weeks of false hope, they tell the BBC why the need for closure is more important than ever.

A smile spread over Louise Bristow's face as she remembered all three of her children cheerily singing happy birthday to her in the car.

Just days later their lives would be turned upside down after her only son and youngest child Dylan, 17, was found dead on a rural road.

"It was all surreal. [I thought] it can't be Dylan, I just spoke to him - I saw him on Wednesday," his mum recalled.

"Our whole world seemed to fall around us."

Now, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer and being told she may only have three months to live, she is desperate for answers.

Dylan died four days after he went for a meal with his sisters and niece for his mum's birthday

The day - 18 September, 2021 - started like many Saturdays did for Dylan: playing rugby at the Bishop's Castle and Onny Valley club alongside his father Darren Price, followed by a few drinks with friends at the Kings Head, a pub in the centre of the market town.

It would be his 18th birthday in two days.

"I'd texted Dyl the night before saying 'don't get too drunk because we are going out for a birthday meal on Sunday'," Mrs Bristow said.

Dylan's sister Livi, 22, was with him at the pub and told him to call her if he needed a lift.

"I hugged him and that was it," she said. "He disappeared into the crowd."

Livi said she had got a text from her brother saying he might need a lift later, but had not heard anything else and presumed he was staying out. She went to bed at about 02:00 BST.

Dylan played rugby for Shrewsbury and Bishop's Castle

The next morning came the phone call that would change their lives forever.

Dylan's father was first to learn from the police his son's body had been found lying on a lane just outside their home town in the early hours of the morning.

When he discovered Mrs Bristow was on her own, he told Izzy first, who delivered the news to her mum as she travelled back from Borth, in Ceredigion.

Her husband Steve Bristow recalled the moment he was told the devastating news.

"It was a scream I will never forget. All I can remember her saying was 'Dylan's dead'."

A post-mortem examination revealed Dylan's injuries to be consistent with being hit by a vehicle.

Steve Bristow says he had a great relationship with his stepson

Instead of preparing for his 18th birthday the following the day, the family was left completely shattered, unable to take in what they had been told.

As Mr and Mrs Bristow travelled from Shrewsbury to stay with their daughters in Bishop's Castle, police seemed to be everywhere - officers on the ground and West Mercia's helicopter above, combing the area for leads on Dylan's last moments.

The family was faced with having to do media appeals as they urged anyone with information to come forward.

A month later, hopes were raised when a 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but police soon determined he had not had any involvement in the tragedy.

They endured their first Christmas without him, the first of many family gatherings where his absence is felt the most.

Then in February this year a £15,000 reward was issued to help find the person responsible.

Dylan was always a keen sportsman

Still, no-one came forward. Until, in July 2022, Mr Bristow received messages on Facebook from a man claiming he knew what had happened to Dylan.

Mr Bristow said he had thanked him for coming forward and had urged the man to go to police.

The family's hopes were raised considerably, but the messages took a sinister turn.

"He messaged saying that him and this other person moved Dylan's body from in the road to the side of the road, that they had punched him before... basically saying they physically went to kill him," Mr Bristow said.

Dylan's mum also received a message that read: "I've told you everything, your son's not as innocent as you thought he was, end of now."

On 1 November, David Brown, of Bishop's Castle, admitted two counts of sending malicious communications. He'd used the fake name John Thomas to contact the family and was apparently motivated to troll them because he was sick of seeing Dylan's name everywhere.

"I had sleepless nights with Lou crying her heart out thinking someone has hurt her son," Mr Bristow said.

"It's a good result for what he did to us but we are still no further to finding the truth about Dylan."

The 17-year-old was found on the B4385 Brampton Road, near Bishop's Castle

It was October this year when Mrs Bristow was told by doctors her illness was terminal.

She was diagnosed with the disease in 2018 after a routine smear test. Following a hysterectomy in January 2019, she was declared cancer free, only for it to return 18 months later.

A fundraising page has been set up by her friends to raise money for alternative medicines that could help bring her kidney count up so she can start chemotherapy again.

Understandably, the need for information about Dylan has never been stronger.

"I just want to know what has happened to my boy," she said.

Louise Bristow says if anyone has information they should "just tell somebody, it would make their lives so much easier"

The family console themselves with memories of Dylan.

"As a baby he was very cuddly, as soon as you'd put him down he'd be off again," his mother recalled.

"He was proper snuggled, not just by me but by Izzy and Livi - he was very mothered."

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Mr Bristow said he had had a great relationship with Dylan.

"From the minute I met him I could tell what kind of lad he was and how loving he was," he said.

Dylan was eight when he met his future stepdad and straight away asked if he'd buy him a coke just moments after his mum had said he could only have lemonade.

He is much missed by Izzy's daughter, six-year-old Azaylia, who talks about him constantly and has had to have counselling for her loss.

"They had a bond that you just couldn't replace," Izzy said.

Dylan loved killer whales after getting this inflatable one on holiday

A memorial garden has been built in Bishop's Castle, which at the heart of it has the artwork of a killer whale, Dylan's favourite animal.

"We'd bought him an inflatable killer whale on holiday which was very large and he wanted to bring it home, and 'evil mother' killed the killer whale... boy, did I regret that one," Mrs Bristow said.

Her son's dream to see the whales in real life later came true on a family holiday.

After his death, more than 60 relatives and friends got matching tattoos of orcas in his memory.

In August, a memorial rugby match was held and raised more than £7,000 to help children get into the sport.

"It's something we know Dylan would be happy to do - he was so generous," Izzy said.

The family love to keep the teenager's memory alive with stories of his life

Police continue to investigate Dylan's death and Det Insp Jo Delahay urged people to come forward.

"We ask that anyone who may have driven or walked along B4385 Brampton Road between 01:00 and 05:30 on Sunday 19 September, 2021 to please get in touch," she said.

The family said they were directly appealing to the driver responsible - or someone that may be helping them hide an awful secret - to go to police and unburden themselves.

"The worst has happened, but how somebody can live with themselves? Just get it off your chest," Mrs Bristow said.

"We just want to know that it wasn't done intentionally, that it was a complete accident," she added.

Mr Bristow said it would mean everything if Dylan's mum could find out what had happened before her illness worsened.

"We just want closure for her," he said.