Body found in search for 13-year-old boy who got into difficulty while swimming off East Yorkshire coast

Police searching for a 13-year-old boy who got into difficulty while swimming off the East Yorkshire coast yesterday have found a body.

Formal identification has not yet taken place, but police said they believe it to be the body of the teenage boy.

Chief Superintendent Phil Booker, of Humberside Police, said: "This is an incredibly heartbreaking outcome, and our thoughts are with the boy's family and friends at this devastating time."

He said emergency services were called to the South Promenade in Hornsea shortly after 6pm on Tuesday "following a report of a concern for safety involving a 13-year-old boy who had got into difficulty whilst swimming in the water".

Mr Booker said "an extensive search operation was launched" involving specialist Humberside search officers, including the marine unit and drone pilots, alongside HM Coastguard, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.

"Tragically, at around 4.30am this morning, a body was recovered from the water," he added. "His death is not being treated as suspicious, and a file will now be prepared for the coroner.

"We know the sadness and concern this will cause in the community, and we would ask that the family's privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time."

The UK has seen a series of deaths from people getting into difficulty in water this year, as the country experiences record temperatures, at least four heatwaves and consistently high temperatures.

In May - which saw the hottest ever May temperature and the hottest ever Bank Holiday recorded - at least 15 people, mostly children, drowned swimming in open water.

The RNLI issued a water safety warning at the time, saying "while the air temperature is warm, the seas are still cold and cold water shock remains a very real risk".

It added that the effects of entering waters of 15C or below are "often underestimated", and "this shock can be the precursor to drowning".

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Entering such water increases the heart rate, leading to blood pressure also going up, meaning cold shocks can cause heart attacks even in relatively young and healthy people.

Breathing rates can change uncontrollably and increase as much as tenfold, the charity says.

This can all contribute to a feeling of panic, which in turn increases the risk of inhaling water into the lungs.

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