Father of tragic five-year-old pays tribute to ‘best mate’

The father of a five-year-old boy found dead on New Year’s Eve has paid tribute to his “best mate”.

Dylan Scanlon was pronounced dead after emergency services were called to a property in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

An investigation into his death is ongoing and a woman in her 30s has been detained under the Mental Health Act, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said.

His father Gary Keenan said: “Dylan was my best mate.

“He was a happy, funny and cheeky little boy, who was full of excitement – especially about doing new things.

“Dylan loved going to school, playing with his friends and dogs and going for drives with me to parks and lakes.

“He loved being at the lake but not walking around it – he was there for the ice cream, a ride on daddy’s shoulders and a McDonald’s on the way home.

“His favourite times of year were Christmas and his birthday – he knew he’d be spoiled.

“I’ve been looking through memories on my phone – videos of him crawling and learning how to walk. I will always remember his face when I got home from work – he was always happy to see me and I loved spending any time with him that I could.

“Dylan will be sadly missed by all family and friends, especially his brother, who he loved and absolutely adored. I loved watching them playing with each other, looking after each other and just doing what brothers do.”

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene after police were called by the ambulance service to an incident at property on Elm Road in the Limeside area of Oldham at about 6.20pm on Friday December 31.

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