Tribute plan for missing designer

Steve Absolum has not been seen since Boxing Day 'Being on the edge suited Steve'

A memorial service is being planned for a BBC Wales employee presumed to have drowned while swimming in the sea off Colombia early on Boxing Day.

Steve Absolum, 32, went missing near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast and no trace of him was found after an extensive air-sea search.

He had been an interactive designer for BBC Wales' New Media output since 2002.

Among his achievements was running the interactive content for the tsunami relief concert in Cardiff last January.

Mr Absolum, a qualified diver who was described as a strong swimmer, had been on holiday with a friend when he went into the sea at about 0300 local time.

Mr Absolum was a trained diver and was described as a strong swimmer

His parents have travelled to Colombia's Tayrona national park to visit the beach where he was last seen alive.

Colleagues of Mr Absolum, who had lived in Wales since studying in Newport when he was 18, said they remember him as an active and talented team member with a zest for life that had made him universally popular.

BBC Wales controller Menna Richards said: "He was central to the development of interactive programmes, including Scrum V, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, the tsunami relief Cardiff concert and the recent Doctor Who.

"He will be sadly missed both professionally and as a friend to many across BBC Wales."