The body of a man has been found along a river bank near Norwich.

Emergency services were called to Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, at 8.43am on Saturday.

A Norfolk Police spokesman said emergency services were called after reports of a body seen along the river bank.

Eastern Daily Press: A man's body has been found along the river bank on Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, on Saturday morning.A man's body has been found along the river bank on Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, on Saturday morning. (Image: Archant)

Visitors to Whitlingham Lake should be aware the lane and parts of the walkway around the lake have been temporarily closed while emergency services deal with the situation.

The rest of the Broad is open as usual, with emergency service activity concentrated around Norwich Canoe Club near to Whitlingham Boat House.

Hemsby Lifeboat said it was paged at around 9.10am to assist the police and fire service after a member of the public spotted the body in the water.

Eastern Daily Press: Hemsby Lifeboat were paged to help at Whitlingham Broad this morningHemsby Lifeboat were paged to help at Whitlingham Broad this morning (Image: Hemsby Lifeboat)

A number of officers, rapid response vehicles and forensics were still on scene as of 12.30pm.

Alan Jones, second coxswain for Hemsby Rescue said: "We launched from the Canoe Club and helped ferry the police and fire service to the place the man's body was found.

"We blocked off the island to boat traffic for a while to help secure the area while police proceeded with their investigation."

Eastern Daily Press: A man's body has been found along the river bank on Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, on Saturday morning.A man's body has been found along the river bank on Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, on Saturday morning. (Image: Archant)

Police said at this point they are unable to confirm how the man ended up in the water, but that enquiries are ongoing.

People walking around Whitlingham Great Broad were largely oblivious to the morning's events.

One woman said: "There were some police standing on the far side near Whitlingham Adventure, but our route was unaffected and we didn't pay too much attention to what was happening."

Another man walking round Whitlingham Great Broad said he'd "seen nothing and heard nothing" with regards to the emergency service presence over by the Little Broad.

Lisa Neal, South Norfolk councillor for Poringland, Framinghams and Trowse, said she could understand that people in the area would be feeling on edge by the news.

She said: "I do understand that it's unsettling for the people of Trowse, but 'd just like to reassure them that all the blue light services are looking into it and will be doing everything they can to find out what has happened."