Body found in search for missing boy

The body of a 10-year-old boy who was swept away while playing on mud flats was recovered today, police said.

The boy, from Gloucester, who has not been named, was last seen playing beside the River Severn near Arlingham in Gloucestershire, which is on a peninsula 13 miles south of Gloucester.

He was last seen shortly after 8pm yesterday and coastguards, the police, fire service and Severn Area Rescue Association (Sara), assisted by the police helicopter, searched into the early hours.

The body of a young male was discovered at around 9.45am this morning by a member of the public, some 400 yards from The Passage Inn on the east bank of the river.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said the missing boy fell into deep water and two of his friends made unsuccessful efforts to rescue him.