Fears of body in River Ribble at Preston spark police and fire brigade operation

The emergency services turned out after reports from members of the public that a "body shaped" item was floating in the water.

A boat from Lancashire Fire and Rescue's Water Incident Unit at Penwortham was launched near to the bridge in London Road.

The brigade also used a drone to try and identify what the object was.

It was found to be an old tent and was recovered from the river further downstream near to Strand Road.

A spokesman for the Penwortham crew said: "Someone had seen something floating in the water and, the way it was structured, it could have looked like a body.

"We launched the boat to go downstream and take a closer look. It turned out to be a blue tarpaulin type of tent which had been discarded.

"We just checked it out and recovered it further down near to the cadet hut on Strand Road."