Woman's body found in university lake

Police are investigating the discovery of a woman's body in the University of East Anglia's lake

A woman's body was found in the lake this morning (Flickr (Gerry Balding))

A local fisherman made the gruesome discovery of a body at 8.40am today in the University of East Anglia (EUA) lake.

The university has stated that all staff, students and visitors on summer schools and conferences have been accounted for.

The angler, who was stood 200 metres from where the body was found floating face-down said: “At first I couldn’t work out what it was. Then I saw a floating body about six feet away from the bank. It was only a small body, like that of a young woman.”

The spot is roughly 200 metres from university buildings.

It is understood that the body had been in the water, known locally as the UEA Broad, for some time before it was seen.

The UEA Broad is a manmade lake, and hosted a fishing competition on Wednesday evening. The competition finished at 9pm with nothing unusual reported.

A police spokesperson confirmed that investigations were continuing following the discovery of the body this morning.

The spokesperson continued: “Police are still on the scene, carrying out searches of the immediate area which remains cordoned off while investigations continue.”

The majority of the student population are presently on summer holidays, however, there are still some postgraduate and summer camps working on campus.

Graduation ceremonies and leaving balls all took place last month.

A university spokesperson said: “Swimming is strictly prohibited in the Broad. There are 18 warning signs positioned around it at regular intervals, along with 11 lifebelts which are checked every two weeks. The area around the UEA Broad is also patrolled regularly by estates and security staff.”

A police spokesman added: "Initial inquiries have been carried out with UEA and at this stage it is believed all students have been accounted for."