Family pay heartbreaking tribute to 'precious' boy, 16, found dead on railway with friend

The heartbroken family of a teenager found dead on railway tracks with his friend has paid tribute to their "incredibly precious" boy.

Joshua Myers, 16, was found dead on Thursday, July 3, after police were called to reports of a casualty on the tracks near Poynton station, in Cheshire, at around 10.09pm. The 16-year-old, from Handforth, was pronounced dead at the scene, alongside another 16-year-old boy. The British Transport Police say they are not treating their deaths as suspicious.

Joshua's family have now paid tribute to their son. Bouquets of flowers were placed at Poynton station in memory of the 16 year-olds after the tragedy.

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In a statement, his parents said: "Our son Josh is incredibly precious to us and we are so proud to be his Mum and Dad. He had no idea how loved he was. Our hearts have been broken, and the world seems incomplete without him. He will stay in our hearts forever.

"He was the best big brother ever, who loved his big family. He was also very thoughtful, kind, bright and intelligent. His warm sense of humour always shone through all of his activities. He really enjoyed playing computer games, running, including park runs, and playing badminton.

"Many of his favourite days were when he was relaxing and playing whilst on holiday with his family - bodyboarding, swimming and looking after his younger siblings. Josh's close friends also meant a lot to him and he really enjoyed spending time with them.

"Our family would like to thank everyone for all of the wonderfully kind thoughts and messages which we have received. Thank you to everyone, too, for respecting our privacy at this very sad time."

Police teams were pictured searching woodland nearby on Friday afternoon. Officers were also pictured at the scene of the tragedy on Friday morning, together with Network Rail officials.

British Transport Police, however, have said the tragedy is not being treated as suspicious.

A passenger who got off a train at the station in Poynton on Friday, meanwhile, told the Manchester Evening News the double tragedy was "devastating". She said: "It's just devastating. I have teenage children myself, including a 16-year-old boy. It just brings it so close to home."

Officials closed railway lines so that medics could reach the teenagers, but sadly both boys were pronounced dead at the scene. Several services were affected by the closure including Avanti West Coast, Cross Country and Northern services - and trains didn't resume until around 6am on Friday.

No further details surrounding the circumstances or what police suspect happened have been revealed.