Tributes have been paid to a 'much-loved' teenage boy with 'great potential' who was found dead in the water in a small Norfolk village.

The 16-year-old, named locally as Scott Meekings, was found at Coston, between Wymondham and Dereham, on Thursday afternoon.

DS Chris Burgess, from Great Yarmouth CID, said on Thursday evening that the unexplained death was not being treated as suspicious by Norfolk police and the family had been informed.

The teenager had attended Dereham's Neatherd High School, but left in year nine to go to The Douglas Bader Short Stay School For Norfolk, in Filby Road, RAF Coltishall, according to Neatherd High headteacher Peter Devonish.

Des Reynolds, executive headteacher at The Short Stay School for Norfolk, said: 'The staff and children of the Douglas Bader school were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Scott Meekings.

'Scott was a much-loved student of the school whose happiness was infectious. We will all cherish many lovely memories of Scott working in textiles and building a speaker stand in technology. Scott was a young man with great potential whose loss will be felt keenly by the many young people and adults whose lives he enriched.

'Everyone at the Douglas Bader school wishes to send Scott's family our deepest sympathies at this difficult time.'

Officers were called to the private road, which leads to a private fishing lake, at 3.30pm on Thursday and were in the rural community until the early hours of the morning.

Firefighters from Hingham and Wymondham, members of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service's Urban Search and Rescue team, paramedics and the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) were also alerted to the scene.

Tributes on Twitter included: 'Never will be forgotten, fly safe Scott', 'A huge loss', 'I didn't even know Scott personally but every single time I saw him he had the biggest grin on his face ever', and 'A young life taken away so suddenly and unexpected and is going to be missed by many'.

Many messages started or ended with #RIPScottMeekings.

The police investigation was handed over to the Norfolk coroner, according to a police spokesman, who said an inquest would be opened in due course.

It is not yet known the circumstances surrounding the death and a metal gate was locked at the top of the private road leading to the fishing lake yesterday morning.

One neighbour said he heard sirens and saw the EAAA helicopter at about 4.30pm on Thursday,