Body found in woods near Bristol thought to be DJ Derek
The mysteryofwhat happened to Britain’s oldest DJ after he vanished following a night out last year appeared to have been solved last night after human remains were found in woodland near his home.
The 73-year-old Derek Serpell-Morris, better known as DJ Derek, disappeared shortly after leavingThe Criterion pub in Bristol in the early hours of 11 July. He was reported missing two weeks later by family members who launched a huge campaign to try to find him. Although the remains were yet to be formally identified, police said personal possessions found at the scene strongly suggested they were belonged to the missing pensioner.
A member of the public made the discovery, near Cribbs Causeway shopping centre in the north of the city, on Thursday afternoon.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Iddon, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “This is a very distressing time for Derek’s family who’ve been carrying out an exhaustive campaign to locate him and raise awareness of his disappearance and our thoughts are very much with them.”
The death is being treated as unexplained and a postmortem examination will be carried out by a Home Office pathologist to establish the cause of death.
Mr Serpell-Morris became a local legend in Bristol, playing hundreds of sets at bars and clubs over the years – as well as