TWO Tullibody brothers who went missing on Monday night were found safe and sound in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Brandon (13) and Bernie Iliff (8) were last seen playing in their street in Redlands Road, but didn’t return home at 6pm as expected.

After family members failed to find the boys, police in Forth Valley Division were called in to aid with the search and an appeal was made to the public to help trace the children by checking their sheds, garages, gardens and other outbuildings.

As a helicopter searched from the sky and officers knocked on doors, the internet exploded at the news of the boys’ disappearance.

Requests were made across the county to keep an eye open for the little lads and at around 1am yesterday (22 July) they were found in a street near their home.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Advertiser, “Brandon and Bernie Iliff were traced safe and well. The public are thanked for their assistance with this appeal. The incident is not being treated as suspicious, as they went on their own accord.” Brandon and Bernie’s mum told the Advertiser their vanishing act has led to the pair being grounded.

Anne-marie Iliff said, “They were out playing and then disappeared. It was a massive fright, but they’re fine and weren’t hurt.

“Bernie came home and was knackered. The first thing he wanted was something to eat. Brandon got himself into trouble with the police, but he’s with his big sister now.

“I’ve got to thank everyone who helped – especially the police. Grounded? Oh yes.” Via the Advertiser’s Facebook page many people shared the story and wrote their concern for the missing boys’ safety.

However at one point the newspaper came under fire for awaiting official police confirmation instead of announcing the kids’ disappearance hours earlier.

As we explained online at the time, the Advertiser is duty-bound to adhere to newspaper reporting regulations. Our social media outlets are regulated in the same way as anything that appears in print.

We cannot post every rumour that is sent our way or else there’d be an escaped Glenochil prisoner on the run each time a helicopter is in the sky.

Of course we want to get news out there and certainly we want to assist in matters of importance to the community, but we have a responsibility to ensure information is correct. It would simply be irresponsible to potentially cause hysteria by reacting to rumours without substantiating information.

In the past year we have run several stories exposing internet hoaxes that have gone viral in Clackmannanshire – including one involving a supposed serial sex attacker and child kidnapper. This is why we fact-check and wait that little bit longer if necessary for official confirmation..