Body of boy found off Norfolk coast

A body believed to be that of the missing five-year-old Jake Parker was recovered from the sea yesterday near to where the boy disappeared while playing on a Norfolk beach.

A body believed to be that of the missing five-year-old Jake Parker was recovered from the sea yesterday near to where the boy disappeared while playing on a Norfolk beach.

A private yacht spotted the body off Brancaster and alerted the coastguard, which recovered it from the sea. The identification process was under way last night. Jake's family, from Northamptonshire, were informed.

Jake vanished on Sunday while paddling in shallow water on a beach at Brancaster. He was on a day trip from his home in Wellingborough with his parents, Kevin and Debbie, and sister, Lauren.

Police said he was being watched by an aunt when he disappeared in an area notorious for dangerous tides. He is said to have been out of sight for "seconds".

Police and Royal Air Force search helicopters, lifeboats, police divers and scores of local volunteers joined in the operation to find him, but hopes faded on Monday when two children said they thought they had seen him floating in the sea.

Last night a spokesman for Norfolk police said: "In connection with the search for the missing boy Jake Parker, Norfolk Constabulary can confirm that a child's body has been recovered from the North Sea near Brancaster."

Brancaster has warning signs about the incoming tides and currents but no permanent lifeguard. Four years ago Jodi Loughlin, six, and her brother Tom, four, were swept to their deaths while playing on a beach at Holme, five miles away.