Inquiries ongoing after body is found

A BODY has been found washed up on Cleethorpes beach by a passer-by.

The body of the man, as yet unidentified, was recovered by the coastguard, police and RNLI near Cleethorpes Pier.

Police are currently carrying out inquiries to establish the man's identity and the circumstances leading to his death.

Alastair Macdonald, from Clee Rock Company, saw the incident unfold at about 12.20pm on Tuesday.

He said: "I saw the coastguard and others attend to the body far out on the sandbank on the water's edge.

"They recovered the man on a board and then put him on a lifeboat; it was difficult to see because it was quite far out.

"There was a lot going on, what with the police, coastguard and RNLI in attendance."

A nearby worker, who did not wish to be named, saw a person running on the beach and shouting for a coastguard.

He said: "There was a man running up the beach shouting for help.

"The coastguard then drove out to the body, which was far out near the tide. They had to go out quite a way."

A Humberside Police spokesperson said: "We received a call at 12.22pm on Tuesday reporting the sighting of a body in the water close to Cleethorpes pier.

"The coastguard was alerted and attended in order to assist in retrieving the body, in liaison with police.

"The body is described as male."

There were also officers from Humberside Police's Marine Unit on the scene.

Also in attendance was the RNLI. Senior helmsman Gary Barlow said: "Services of this nature are thankfully fairly infrequent here at Cleethorpes, and the events leading up to the discovery of this man's body are as yet unknown to us.

"The crew have been kept very busy recently with the more usual shouts, and have responded to nine incidents in a little over two weeks."

A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesperson added: "We are supporting the police in their investigations where we can."