The family of missing student Jack O'Sullivan were led to believe he was dead for six days after a body was washed up on a beach, according to his mother.

Catherine O'Sullivan said told the that remains of a man matching her son's description had been found. But it took nearly a week for confirmation that it wasn't him.

Speaking ahead of the first anniversary of his , she criticised the length of time the family were left in limbo. Catherine also claimed police didn't start the process for the first few days - although said the DNA process was 'fast-tracked', with officers providing as many updates as possible.

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Catherine, 53, of Flax Bourton near , said: "Early in the we had a phone call to say some remains had been found on a beach in Wales and we strongly felt they were leaning towards this being Jack. It felt very significant.

"It was six days of utter torture while they tried to work out if it was Jack before it turned out it was obviously not. It was the worst six days so far. It was positioned and explained to us in such a way we could not see how it could not be Jack.

"We were given a description and it fitted everything - height, age, range - that Jack fitted into but they said they could not be conclusive until DNA analysis. We found out after a few days the process had not even started.

"It was such a difficult and traumatic time and to date is the worst six days so far. People asked me would it be better if it was him and did you want closure. I said no - when I heard it was I was totally relieved."

Catherine said they were first told on January 4 and not given the follow up news until January 10. The family are still searching for Jack and have a private investigator who is in contact with the police - but so far they have found no trace of him.

Catherine said the family will be treating the anniversary of when he was last seen on Sunday as "just another day". She added: "I don't want to draw unnecessary attention or be out having vigils - I don't want to do that.

"We think of Jack every day - so next Sunday is not a huge milestone for us. But it is totally unbelievable that 12 months have gone by. It doesn't feel real.

"It has been a whole year and we have no idea what happened to him. We are still completely none the wiser. We get messages of hoaxes, ransoms, people telling me they have got him - but nothing has ever been proven."

Avon and Somerset Police said: "We contacted Jack's family on Saturday 4 January to inform them that a body had been located at Stout Bay, in Wales. Detectives worked with colleagues at to fast-track the DNA process to identify the remains and provide answers to the family.

"We were able to provide an update to the family on Friday 10 January in which we were able to confirm the remains were not Jack's. During this six-day period, the Superintendent overseeing the investigation made contact with the family on several occasions to give what update we could."