Five people die in UK waters during heatwave with man pulled from river

Five people have died during the UK’s hottest June on record after getting into difficulty in the water.

The death toll linked to swimming during the ongoing hot spell has risen to five after the body of a man was pulled from the River Severn in Shrewsbury this morning.

Brody Leach, 22, was last spotted alive early on Friday morning, when he got into difficulty, sparking a huge emergency response.

The young man’s body was recovered by divers today, West Mercia Police confirmed.

In Southampton, divers looking for a 15-year-old schoolboy who went missing on Wednesday during a dip in the Testwood Lakes nature reserve found a body today.

His family have been informed and formal identification has been carried out, the police confirmed.

In Lancashire, tributes have poured in for 13-year-old Hayden Jones-Powell, whose body was pulled from Meynell Lake in Syston, Lancashire, yesterday some 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 humor and was extremely quick-witted.

‘We don’t know how we will cope without him.’

The alarm was raised after the teen failed to return after going for a swim at the lakes on Thursday afternoon during one of the hottest days.

Wreake Valley Academy said Mr Jones-Powell’s death has ‘deeply affected everyone at our school and we are providing support to students, staff, and families who need it.’

Police in Essex confirmed the death of a 69-year-old man in Clacton, who got into difficulty in the sea on Friday morning.

Essex Police said in a statement: ‘Officers, paramedics, the fire service and coastguard all attended. Sadly, despite colleagues’ best efforts, a 69-year-old man died at the scene.’

The first death linked to the latest heatwave and open water swimming was that of a 50-year-old man, who was pronounced dead on Wednesday at Aberavon beach on the south coast of Wales.

In France enduring the western Europe’s hot spell, drowning deaths linked to the heatwave reached 55 since Thursday last week.

Within the last 24 hours alone, Paris recorded 109 heat deaths in the city.

The situation is equally grim in Spain, where the death toll from heat-related illness reached 212 since June 21 as the heat dome continues to grop western and central Europe.

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