Main content

Dad: Police failure to retrieve son's body a 'shambles'

The father of a teenager who drowned in the River Thames has criticised Thames Valley Police after they failed to send divers to retrieve his body.

Darren Downes was speaking to 91热爆 Radio 5 live, and described the police operation as a "shambles from start to finish".

Ellis Downes, 16, drowned in the River Thames after going in for a swim with friends on Saturday. But after he went missing, his father says the police response was slow and ineffective.

Two days after he feared the worst, police divers had still not been called to look for his body, so he called upon the services of a volunteer divers. After just two hours, they found Ellis's body.

Darren says that the police have now apologised to him. Thames Valley Police have referred themselves to the IPCC.

This clip is originally from 5 live Daily on Thursday 12 May 2016.

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes

This clip is from