THE father of missing Burnley boy Daniel Entwistle today revealed that he attempted to commit suicide following his son's disappearance and the subsequent break-up of his marriage.

David Entwistle told how the heartache of Daniel's disappearance led him to swallow a cocktail of alcohol and pills in the months after his seven-year-old son went missing from home in May this year.

He said he was only saved when a fellow tenant in the bedsit where he now lives raised the alarm.

David, 41, said: "At the time I wanted to die, but I was pleased someone helped me and I am alive now."

He also spoke of having to face his first Christmas without Daniel.

Daniel, who used to live in Peel Street, Padiham, before moving to Great Yarmouth with his family three years ago, failed to return home after going to the shops to fetch a pint of milk.

His bike was found yards from the River Yare, but despite a massive police search no trace of him has been found.

Norfolk police called off the search for the missing youngster in August, although they will still monitor developments and any new information.

David claimed the stress of his son's disappearance caused the break-up of his marriage to Daniel's mum, Paula, who has a new boyfriend and is believed to have moved back to the Burnley area with their other sons, Antony, 10, and John, two.

He recalled the happy Christmas they had all spent together just a year earlier, but said this year he had abandoned any celebrations and spent the day alone in his Great Yarmouth bedsit.

David remembers his son, Daniel, tearing open his Christmas presents and laughing with delight as he realised he had a much-wanted Sony PlayStation.

He said: "It was a happy day for the kids. I watched them having fun and Paula and I was happy. We were just like any other family and everything was just fine."

Earlier this year, David served seven days of a two-week prison sentence for flouting an injunction banning him from contacting his wife.

He also spoke of his horror at learning body parts had been found on a nearby beach, in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, earlier this month.

He said: "I automatically thought it could be Daniel, but I later found out that the police thought it was a man over 40, so I knew it could not be him. If it had been Daniel it would have been closure for me. But I had just seen Paula and my other sons, so I had a lot of memories still fresh in my mind."

David has vowed to stay in Great Yarmouth until he knows what has happened to his son. "I will stay here until Daniel is found," he said.

Other family members are clinging to the hope that Daniel could one day be found alive.

Speaking from her home in Bevington Close, Burnley, his aunt, Cath Entwistle, 40, said: "There is always hope and that is what everyone is clinging to.

"Christmas is obviously a hard time for the family and although I wouldn't have spent time with Daniel over the festive season I do remember when they lived up here meeting up with him when he did his Christmas shopping.

"We will all keep our fingers crossed in the New Year for some good news."

At the height of the investigation into Daniel's disappearance, which has so far cost more than £300,000 and involved more than 100 officers, intensive searches were made of buildings and roofs in the seaside town.

Police divers used hi-tech sonar equipment to scour the riverbed, helicopter searches were conducted, and police were brought in from all over the county to follow up potential sightings.

The incident room received more than 1,200 messages, resulting in 2,500 actions by police officers with 575 statements taken.

But in August, with no clue as to his whereabouts, police had to stand down search teams.

A spokesman for Norfolk police said the book on Daniel's disappearance was not closed He said: "The file on Daniel is still open. It is an ongoing investigation. We would obviously still want to hear from anyone who has information."