Body found at water park in hunt for missing swimmer

A body has been found in the hunt for a man missing at a water park, while an urgent search is under way to find a swimmer who has not been seen since jumping into an east London dock on Tuesday evening.

The body was recovered at Cotswold Water Park shortly before 8.50pm, Gloucestershire police said. Police scrambled a helicopter and were helped in the search by fire and ambulance crews after the swimmer, who has not been named, was reported missing about seven hours earlier.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner and the man’s next of kin were informed, the force said.

In London, the Metropolitan police were called to Shadwell Basin shortly after 6pm following reports of a man seen entering the water. “The man, believed to be aged 22, was swimming with friends and has not resurfaced.”

Officers and the marine policing unit attended, along with other emergency service personnel. They remained on the scene on Tuesday night.

In July 2016, a 29-year-old man drowned in Shadwell Basin after jumping into the water with 100 other people.

Temperatures exceeded 30C (86F) on Tuesday afternoon and the hot spell was expected to continue throughout the week, forecast to reach a possible 38C, which would be a July record.

Public Health England warned people to “take care and follow local safety advice, if you are going into the water to cool down”, while Birmingham city council told residents it considered designated swimming pools to be the only safe places for people looking to cool down during the period of hot weather.