A teenager drowned while swimming with three friends in the River Severn. The 17-year-old was today named as student Tony James Ballard.

He was from Jasmine Avenue in Worcester.

A major search was launched after his friends raised the alarm around 3.30pm yesterday. Firefighters pulled him from the water two hours later but were unable to save him.

Detective Seregant Paul Freeman, who attended the scene, said: “This appears to be a tragic accident in which one teenager sadly lost his life. The boy’s friends are thought to have tried their hardest to rescue him from the water but unfortunately they were unable to save him.”

Chief Inspector Jerry Reakes-Williams, head of Local Policing in South Worcestershire, said: “Following this tragedy we would remind everyone that they should never try to cool off in unsupervised water.

“The water is inevitably much colder than the ambient temperature – and the current usually stronger than anticipated – and even good swimmers can soon get into difficulties in these conditions.”

The Coroner for Worcestershire, Mr Geraint Williams, has been informed and a post-mortem is expected tomorrow.