Mystery surrounds a man whose body was spotted in a river just yards from where several hundred schoolboys were taking part in Saturday football matches.
A dog walker dialled 999 shortly before 8am on January 27 after discovering the body floating in the River Thames at Caversham, Reading, Berkshire.
Emergency services were called and police, fire crews and paramedics all rushed to the scene.
Crews used a long pole to pull the body, which had been washed down to Caversham Lock, out of the river before it was eventually put into a private ambulance and taken to the mortuary at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading.
A dog walker dialled 999 shortly before 8am on January 27 after discovering the body floating in the River Thames (pictured) at Caversham, Reading, Berkshire
A post mortem examination will be carried out to learn the exact cause of the man’s death. It was not known how long he had been in the water.
The drama happened just a few yards from Christchurch Meadows at Caversham, where several hundred young boys were taking part in weekly Saturday soccer games, watched over by excited parents.
Police at the scene refused to comment on the discovery of the man’s body which has not yet been positively identified.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that the death was being treated as ‘unexplained’ and added that it was too early to know whether it was related to any reports of missing people.
Attempts were being made to contact the man’s relatives to break news of the tragic drowning to them.
Emergency services (pictured) were called and police, fire crews and paramedics all rushed to the scene
‘As this stage we do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding this death,’ said the spokesman.
Police forensic scientists clad in white and blue suits were called to the scene and photographed the body before it was taken away.
The lock remained cordoned off as investigations into how the man came to be in the water continued.
The discovery comes exactly one week after a man’s body was found just a mile away in the River Thames at Sonning Lock.
The body was spotted near the home of actor George Clooney but the two deaths were not believed to be related.
Police forensic scientists clad in white and blue suits were called to the scene and photographed the body before it was taken away