POLICE are probing whether a body found in a west Suffolk river on Sunday is that of a man reported missing in May.

An off-duty Norfolk police officer made the grim discovery in the Little Ouse at Brandon around 4pm yesterday.

He had been canoeing on the river when he spotted a badly-decomposed body partially caught under a tree near Gashouse Drove.

Suffolk police said last night they were looking into the possibility the body is that of Robert Arnold, who was reported missing on May 24.

Formal identification has not yet been carried out - although the body has been confirmed to be male - and the death is still being treated as unexplained.

Officers said a post mortem would be held in the next few days but there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances around the death.

Mr Arnold, 65, of Beechfields, Brandon, has not been seen since May 21.

His car was later found in the Aldi car park at Brandon, which is near to the Little Ouse River.

The discovery prompted rescue divers to search the Little Ouse between High Street, Brandon, and Littleport.