A deep sea diver who has taken to exploring the depths of Norfolk has given a stark warning to open water swimmers about what lies beneath the surface - following a teenager’s reported near miss in a village river.

Eastern Daily Press: Norfolk diving vloggers Craig Morris and Jim Marshall. Picture: The Dive LineNorfolk diving vloggers Craig Morris and Jim Marshall. Picture: The Dive Line (Image: The Dive Line)

Craig Morris, who alongside friend Jim Marshall runs a YouTube channel dedicated to diving, has spent recent months delving into Norfolk’s rivers, after lockdown limited the pair’s travelling capacity.

Through this, the vloggers have made a variety of startling discoveries of what lurks under the waters - resulting in 58-year-old Mr Morris warning anyone who might feel tempted to swim in the waters.

Mr Morris, from North Walsham, said: “We were recently doing a clean-up operation in Cringleford, beneath the medieval bridge, when we got speaking to a group of teenagers who saw us diving and wanted to find out more.

“They had all your usual questions when they saw our gear, like were we looking for a body and so on, but then they told us that they like to jump off the bridge and into the water.

“They told us how one of them had dived in and just didn’t come up to start with. When he eventually did his leg was trapped in what turned out to be a shopping trolley. If they could only see what was under there.”

The experienced divers, who have in the past travelled far and wide for their passion, have recently focussed on Norfolk as a result of the pandemic - and have done clean-ups of waters at Horstead Mill as well as Cringleford.

He added: “I think people will definitely think twice about jumping off bridges if they knew just what was underneath and how dangerous it could be. It really opens your eyes.

“You’d be amazed by the types of things you find down there - and how long the stuff has been there. We pulled bags- and bags-worth of things out including some commemorative coke bottles from the 1984 Olympic Games. It all just lies there and doesn’t decompose.”

The pair will take part in another clean-up this weekend, which will be documented on their channel The Dive Line.