Dad praises police as they search for Corrie

Officers sifting through 80 tons of landfill rubbish per day in hunt for RAF man

The father of missing RAF airman Corrie McKeague has praised search teams for going “on their hands and knees” sifting through rubbish looking for his son.

Martin McKeague, 48, said the search was being treated like an “excavation” so officers had to be delicate with the area in case they contaminate any potential evidence.

The RAF gunner, originally from Dunfermline, has not been seen following a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, last September.

Mr McKeague said: “It was a very emotional day for us and it’s not getting any easier.

“I can’t believe the incredible progress this team has made from last week to this week.

“These police officers are managing to sift through 80 tons of rubbish per day, sometimes on their hands and knees, to ensure no detail is missed.

“Make no mistake – this is a high risk crime scene with 24-hour security around the site, which means you need a small specially-trained team to ensure no evidence is contaminated.”

He also praised Suffolk police for discovering an error in weight measurements taken from a bin lorry that left the area where Corrie was last spotted on CCTV.

At the time, incorrect measurements claimed the bin lorry weighed 11kg but it was later discovered it was actually 100kg.

Martin added: “If it weren’t for the incredible efforts of the Suffolk police force and their persistence in going over and over the data, even as other serious lines of inquiry continued, the human error in the calculation of the weight of the bin that likely carried Corrie here may never have been found.”

Corrie was last seen in the early hours of September 24 in Bury St Edmunds.

He was last seen going into a loading bay, known as the Horseshoe, which contains bins.

Officers have now revealed they are “confident” they will find his body at the landfill.

Last week Martin said that visiting the landfill site was like staring into a “piece of hell”.

The five-figure reward posted by Corrie’s grandparents in December will remain until Corrie is found.

Earlier this month Haydn Stephens, a former police officer, was arrested accused of perverting the course of justice.

Mr Stephens, who worked for Biffa, the firm responsible for picking up bins in the area where Corrie went missing, was later released on bail.

Picture: SWNS. Police excavate the landfill site as they look for Corrie McKeague’s body.

Martin McKeague, top, visited Bury St Edmunds as police continue to search for the body of his son Corrie, above.