Man drowns and child missing after swimming on hottest day of the year
Police warn about dangers of open water as Britons cool off during heatwave
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A man has been found dead in a lake and a child is missing after getting into difficulty swimming on the hottest day of the year.
Police and fire crews launched a search for the man after he was “seen struggling in the water” at Mercers Lake in Nutfield, Surrey, at 6.30pm on Monday.
His body was found by specialist divers three hours later.
“The death is currently being treated as unexplained, although at this stage there is not believed to be any third-party involvement and it is not believed to be suspicious,” said a Surrey Police spokesman.
Officers are attempting to locate the man’s next of kin.
The force said it received several calls earlier in the day about youths “behaving in an anti-social manner” while swimming in the lake, which is a former quarry pit.
News of the man’s death emerged as emergency services resumed a search for a missing child at Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday morning.
Police, paramedics and fire crews were called to reports of three children “in distress in the water” at 4.50pm on Monday.
Two of the children made it out of lake safety but the third could not be found and rescue teams were forced to suspend the search late on Monday night due to fading light.
Staffordshire Police have cordoned off the lake.
“All families involved are continuing to receive the appropriate support from specially trained officers,” a force spokesman said.
Police have warned people about the dangers of swimming as Britons look to cool off during a heatwave expected to last all week.
Temperatures soared across the UK on Monday, which officially became the hottest day of 2018 so far as 30.1C was recorded at Hampton, south-west London.
Surrey Police said: “With the warm weather, we are reminding people of the dangers of swimming in open water.
“Bodies of water may look safe, but can hide dangers such as hidden currents, hazardous objects, pollution and cold water shock, which affects our ability to swim and reach safety if experiencing difficulties.
“It can also be difficult to gauge water depth – you could find yourself in unexpectedly deep water or injure yourself jumping into shallow water.”
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