A SUFFOLK town has been plunged into a state of shock at learning a six-year-old boy had died after he was pulled from a river.

Anthony Bond

A SUFFOLK town has been plunged into a state of shock at learning a six-year-old boy had died after he was pulled from a river.

The child was found in an isolated spot of the River Stour near Quay lane in Sudbury just before 7.30pm, close to Ballingdon Bridge.

He was taken to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds by ambulance but he later died.

A Suffolk police spokesman said: “Sadly the 6-year-old boy who was recovered from the river in Sudbury this evening has since died in the West Suffolk Hospital.”

This morning Sudbury Town Council's town clerk Sue Brotherwood, who heard the sirens heading to the scene of the incident last night, said: “It is absolutely heart breaking and everybody is absolutely shocked by this tragedy. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the little boy's family.”

The East of England Ambulance Service said it was contacted by the police and dispatched an officer and two ambulances to the scene. A spokesman said nobody else was treated by the ambulance crews.

An area around the riverbank, close to The Quay Theatre, was cordoned off. An investigation underway. The identity of the boy has not yet been released.