THE family of a child murder victim have revealed they are planning to sue Northumbria Police.

The relatives of 11-year-old Wesley Neailey claim the force did not treat his disappearance seriously enough.

They are also angered by comments allegedly made by senior officers to journalists, which left the boy labelled as a streetwise runaway.

Wesley, who lived in Arthur's Hill, in the West End of Newcastle, went missing in June, 1998. He needed medication for epilepsy and police found his bike abandoned near his home.

His family claim such clues should have convinced detectives that there was something seriously wrong.

But, according to Wesley's grandfather, Harry Hammond, it was 17 days before Detective Superintendent Trevor Fordy was brought in to investigate the case, and only then was the case investigated properly.

Mr Hammond said: "We had to wait so long for a senior officer to come and ask the proper questions, get to know the family and take things in the right direction.

"Why did they think he was just a runaway? Do they have preconceptions about children in the West End?"

Wesley's body lay undiscovered for nearly a month in a field in a remote part of North-umberland. Last year, convicted paedophile Dominic McKilligan, who lived in the West End of Newcastle, was jailed for life for the murder.

Wesley's family have been particularly angered by a report on the investigation which appeared in the Northumbria Police annual review, which they say "glosses over" the mistakes.

They now plan to sue the force in the hope of highlighting the alleged errors.

Wesley's mother, Liz, said: "Our little boy's name was dragged through the mud. Northumbria Police had no right to do or say what they did."

A force spokesman said a large-scale search was launch-ed immediately after Wesley was reported missing and claimed the cost of the inquiry had never been an issue.

He added: "Obviously it's a matter for the family if they want to consider legal action."