People have spoken of their shock and sadness after a man died when the car he was driving went into the River Yare at Surlingham, near Norwich.

The body of a man, who has not been named, was recovered from the river after a green Nissan Micra plunged into the river from the bank near Ferry Road.

Emergency services, including the fire service, police and ambulance, were called at 5.21pm on Sunday and the vehicle was found at 7.15pm.

Fire crews from Carrow, Earlham, Sprowston and the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) were called and helped recover the body of the man from the river.

It is not thought anyone else was in the vehicle and no-one else was hurt.

Phil Berry, station manager of Carrow fire station, said: 'We received a call just after 5.15pm on Sunday to Ferry Road.

'We sent fire crews with a range of skills including surface water rescue teams and our dive team. Our firefighters and our dive team worked closely with the police to locate the car and recover the body of a man.'

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) said: 'We were alerted at 5.20pm to Ferry Road to a report of a sinking vehicle. We dispatched our hazardous area response team, an ambulance, officer and the East Anglian Air Ambulance to the scene.'

The river bank, near to the Ferry House pub, has been sealed off as police launch an appeal for witnesses.

A spokesman said it is not thought there were any suspicious circumstances and the matter is being handed over to the coroner.

People living near to the scene have described their shock and sadness.

A woman in her 70s who has lived in Ferry Road all her life, said she was 'shocked' and 'very sad' that someone had died.

Another woman in Ferry Road said: 'There were lots of emergency services going down there.

'We thought someone had come off one of the boats – it's happened before.'

Anyone with information should contact police on 101.