The body of a teenager who went missing near Clacton Pier in Essex on Thursday has been found.
He has been identified by Essex Police as 15-year-old Ben Quartermaine.
The teenager went missing around 6.30pm on 26 July.
“We were called following reports that a body had been found near to Clacton Pier shortly before 8am this morning,” police said.
The force said the death is not being treated as suspicious, but the cause of death is still being investigated.
Police were called following concerns about two teenagers in the water on Thursday and officers were at the scene just after 6.35pm.
Two pier workers helped keep one of the boys above water until a lifeboat crew could reach him.
Przemek Jakiela, 40, who works in the pier’s amusement arcade, said he threw a lifebelt to one of the boys.
Initially the wind and currents prevented the belt from reaching him, but after several more attempts the teenager was able to grab hold of it.
Mr Jakiela and a colleague managed to hold onto the rope until a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew managed to pull the boy from the water and take him ashore.
They were unable to rescue the other boy.
“As I got there I just saw his head go under and he disappeared and did not come back up again,” said Mr Jakiela. “There was just nothing we could do for him.”
2:54 Managing director Billy Ball said the pier had recently put in new lifebelts which are each in an enclosed plastic case to stop them from being vandalised.
Police forces have responded to a number of incidents where people have gotten into difficulty while swimming in rivers and lakes.
Thames Valley Police said a man’s body was recovered from the Jubilee River in Slough, adding that his death was not being treated as suspicious.
Warwickshire Police said emergency services personnel searching for a 17-year-old boy who disappeared after getting into difficulty in a quarry lake near Leamington Spa had recovered a body.
Meanwhile, emergency services in Bedfordshire are looking for a man who got into difficulty in the River Great Ouse on Friday afternoon.
The RNLI is urging the public to take caution.
Tony Wafer, its community safety manager, said: “If you are heading to the coast this weekend, please find out where your nearest lifeguarded beach is and ask the lifeguards for advice on conditions, especially if you are going in the water.
0:10 “RNLI lifeboats and lifeguards have had four times as many rescues of inflatables so far this summer than they did last year.”
After heavy thunderstorms brought a dramatic end to the UK’s heatwave, the Met Office has issued a series of weather warnings as conditions turn wet and windy.
A yellow warning for thunderstorms is in place in parts of Scotland until 2pm on Saturday, while a yellow warning for rain is in force for large swathes of Northern Ireland between 6am and 4pm.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, a yellow warning for rain and wind will come into force in parts of Wales and southern England.
Friday’s downpours triggered travel disruption on roads and railways – with motorists facing flash flooding and train passengers being urged to avoid travel after lightning damaged signalling systems.
Passengers are experiencing five-hour delays at Eurotunnel amid extreme weather conditions.
At Stansted, restrictions placed on flights overnight due to thundery weather have had a knock-on effect into the morning, leading to delays and cancellations.
A mix of toxic air, extreme highs, emissions from the continent and a lack of cloud cover have also caused a “high” pollution alert to be issued for London.
From – SkyNews
