Body found in search for teenage boy, 16, missing after swimming in Cherry Hinton lakes, Cambridge

Emergency services are searching a lake at Cherry Hinton in Cambridgeshire where a teenager has reportedly gone missing. Credit: ITV News Anglia.
Emergency services are searching a lake at Cherry Hinton in Cambridgeshire where a teenager has reportedly gone missing. Credit: ITV News Anglia.

Specialist teams have found a body in their search for a teenage boy who went missing while swimming in a lake on the hottest day of the year.

Police have been at Burnside Lakes, at Cherry Hinton near Cambridge, since Monday evening when concern was raised for a 16-year-old.

Specialist underwater search teams from Nottinghamshire Police were brought in on Tuesday morning.

The boy, from the Essex area, was thought to have been swimming in the lake with a group of friends when he got into difficulty around 5.30pm.

On Tuesday afternoon Cambridgeshire Police confirmed a body had been found as part of the search at about 1pm.

The body has not formally been identified but the teenager's family has been informed.

  • ITV News Anglia reporter Katie Ridley has spent the day at the scene

"This is definitely a very secluded area. There are high fences up all around and lots of signs saying 'no swimming'," she said.

"There's been lots of police activity here today, including the specialist diving units, as well as many other officers. There's just been an ambulance as well and a number of police officers began to leave the scene at about 3.30pm.

"There has also been a lot of media down here and people asking what is happening.

"When I spoke to local people here [about swimmers going in the lake], they said it happens quite a lot. Kids go in that lake a lot because it's free and it's something do to - especially when it's hot because there's not a lot here for them to do.

"It's a very secluded area and whichever way around the lakes you go you can't see the water so it's not easily accessible at all."

Signs around Burnside Lakes warning people about the deep water and urge them to keep out - but locals say people frequently swim there. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Cambridge recorded the hottest temperature of the year so far, at 34.8C. The Met Office said it was only the 11th year since 1961 that temperatures had been that high.

Burnside Lakes are former chalk pits that were closed in the 1950s. They are part-owned by Cambridge City Council, and some of the waters are used by the Cherry Hinton and District Angling Club.

The area is not open to the public and signs around the perimeter warn of deep water.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know