The body of a 22-year-old man pulled from the River Severn in Shrewsbury this morning brought the UK's heatwave drowning toll to five, as the country endures its hottest June on record.
Brody Leach was last seen alive early on Friday morning after getting into difficulty, triggering a huge emergency response. West Mercia Police confirmed his body was recovered by divers today.
“Five people died in UK waters during the hottest June on record, including a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old.”
His death came as police in Southampton found the body of a 15-year-old schoolboy who went missing on Wednesday while swimming in Testwood Lakes nature reserve. Formal identification has been carried out and his family informed.
In Lancashire, tributes poured in for 13-year-old Hayden Jones-Powell, whose body was pulled from Meynell Lake in Syston on Thursday afternoon — weeks before the summer holidays were due to start. His parents said: 'We want him to be remembered by his big smile. His love of animals, his passion towards football and being outside. Hayden also had an amazing sense of humour and was extremely quick-witted. We don't know how we will cope without him.' Wreake Valley Academy said his death had 'deeply affected everyone at our school'.
Police in Essex confirmed the death of a 69-year-old man who got into difficulty in the sea at Clacton on Friday morning. Despite the efforts of officers, paramedics, the fire service and coastguard, he died at the scene.
The first death linked to the heatwave and open water swimming was a 50-year-old man pronounced dead on Wednesday at Aberavon beach on the south coast of Wales.
Across the Channel, the same heat dome gripping western Europe has proved far deadlier: France has recorded 55 drowning deaths since last Thursday, with 109 heat-related deaths in Paris in the last 24 hours alone. In Spain, the death toll from heat-related illness reached 212 since June 21.