A 13-year-old boy has been found dead after getting into difficulty while swimming in a river in Northumberland.
He is the third person to die swimming during the UK heatwave, after a 16-year-old and a 50-year-old both died in Yorkshire.
Northumbria Police said on Monday morning that a body had been found in the search for a missing teenager who got into trouble in the river near Ovingham on Sunday.
“Formal ID has yet to take place but we believe it to be the missing boy,” they said.
Alfie McCraw, 16, died while swimming in a canal in West Yorkshire last week. His death prompted emergency services to issue a warning about open water swimming as temperatures continue to rise.
His cousin Zoe Jones told Yorkshire Live about the incident, saying: “He was just 16 years old and had his whole life ahead of him which was cut short due to a tragic accident.”
Local reports said that Alfie was a student at Outwood Grange Academy and he leaves behind a brother, a sister, mother Jo and father Paul.
A 50-year-old man also died in West Yorkshire on Saturday while he was swimming in a reservoir.
Police were called at around 5:30pm on Saturday to reports a man in difficulty in the water.
Detective inspector Phil Hughes said: “This incident serves as a timely reminder about the dangers of swimming in open water.
“The weather is due to get hotter this week, I would urge people to not enter or swim in reservoirs or open waters.”
