A fisherman has told how he found a body floating face-down in a lake by a Colchester housing estate.

Gary Caunter was fishing with two friends on the Greenstead estate when they made the grisly discovery.

He told the Gazette how they called police to the small lake behind Scarfe Way, at 5pm today.

He said: "My mate waded in to check it out, he poked it and we saw it move. We could tell it was a body."

The 22-year-old of Scarfe Way, added: "It was weird and a bit shocking, I saw the back of his head and his shoulders."

A team of detectives and police officers cordoned off the area as shocked onlookers stood by and a police helicopter flew overhead.

Rosemary Sainty, 36, whose flat overlooks the lake, said: "It's quite daunting to know something has happened right outside.

"I came back from work to see the police everywhere.

"I've been here 13 years and it's the first time anything like this has happened."

An Essex Police spokesman confirmed they were "investigating an incident" but refused to give further details at this stage.

  • See tomorrow's Gazette and keep checking our website for more on this story.