Police call off search for swimmer who vanished in River Mersey on UK’s hottest day

Haydn Griffiths, 23, has been missing for almost two days but his sister believes he is fighting to stay alive

Haydn Griffiths, 23, went missing while swimming to wind turbines in the River Mersey (Merseyside Police)

Police have called off the search for a swimmer who vanished during a late-night dip in the River Mersey on the UK’s hottest day on record.

Haydn Griffiths, 23, was last seen swimming with a friend towards offshore windmills by Derby Pool, New Brighton, at 10.30pm on Tuesday.

A two-day search of the river led by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was stood down on Wednesday night after Mr Griffiths was not found.

But his sister Megan has pleaded with volunteers to keep up the search for her “incredible baby brother”, who she believes is still fighting to stay alive in the open water.

She wrote on Facebook: “This is the most important search in the whole wide world as my incredible baby brother is out there.

“He is the strongest human I’ve ever met and I know he’s out there fighting.

“The coastguard have been amazing and searching all night, helicopters, boats, drones.

“I understand that he may have tried to swim out the offshore wind turbines as the tide changed and he couldn’t swim back to shore.

“Anyone who knows Haydn knows how incredibly strong he is and despite the amount of hours he’s been missing, he’ll be fighting somewhere.”

Mr Griffiths disappeared in the River Mersey near New Brighton (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said Mr Griffiths was wearing dark-coloured swimming shorts and attempting to swim towards wind turbines from the Derby Pool area when he disappeared.

She added: “An extensive search of the river was carried out last night and today by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency but Haydn was not found and the search has now been suspended.

“Haydn is white, 6ft 1in tall, of athletic build, with short blond hair and blue eyes.”

At least 10 people have died after getting into difficulty in water as an unprecedented heatwave gripped the UK.

A boy aged just 13 was the youngest person to lose his life in recent days and one charity warned that the toll may climb as schools break up for the summer holidays.

Officials and charities have urged people to take care when swimming in the heat and to be aware of the dangers of cold water shock.

They also warned of “hidden hazards” under the water at inland sites such as on riverbeds, which pose risks to swimmers.

Anyone who has seen Mr Griffiths or has any information is asked to contact police via MerPolCC on Twitter, through Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Facebook, or by calling 101, quoting reference 22000518807.