Residents have reacted with shock and sadness after a man's body washed up on Weymouth Beach yesterday morning.

Numerous police, ambulances and coastguards could be seen on Weymouth Beach yesterday shortly after 10am - with a waist-high screen set up near the water.

Police have confirmed that the body of a man in his 20s was found in the water near the Pavilion. The beach was cordoned off into the afternoon, before re-opening at about 5pm.

The man’s family has been informed.

Read more: Weymouth Beach: Tragedy as body of man washes up at coast

Read more: Major emergency response at Weymouth Beach

One person said: “There was a guy walking his dog down there who must have found them, and then I saw the police running down.

“We watched them pull a body out of the water. Then they put up the fence as quickly as they could once the officers got there. They did what they could in that amount of time.

“It is really sad."

Another person recalls seeing 'lots and lots' of police arrive, followed by three ambulances.

The beach was cordoned off until around 5pmThe beach was cordoned off until around 5pm (Image: Cristiano Magaglio)

One person out for a walk said: “I think it probably happened just before I got here.

“There was a police car and then there were loads arriving.

“There is nothing happening now so it obviously doesn’t look good. I saw them finishing putting up the fence.

“Whoever it is you have got to feel for the family waiting for whoever it is to come back home. It is such a shame.

“It has been a bad week for Weymouth with all the incidents.

“It is tragic."

Read more: 'Urgent' road closure in place as sinkhole appears

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police received a report at 10.46am on Monday 15 July 2024 that a body of a man aged in his 20s had been found in the water near Weymouth Pavilion.

"Emergency services attended and a cordon is in place while enquiries are carried out to establish the full circumstances of the death.

"The man’s family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this time."

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: “We were called at 10.57am on Monday, July 15 to an incident in Weymouth and we sent two double-crewed land ambulances and an operations officer to the scene.”