Canal 'body' search draws blank

This was the scene as police searched the murky waters of a Midland canal following fears that a body may have been dumped.

Officers were at the scene for around 14 hours yesterday as they scoured the Dudley Canal, off Stoney Lane, Netherton, amid rumours of suspicious activity.

Click on the image on the right to see more pictures from the scene.

But West Midlands Police confirmed that no body or any other object had been found.

Dozens of onlookers gathered at the canalside fascinated by the high-profile search. A resident had initially called police claiming to have seen two men dumping an object into the water at 1.40am yesterday. A patrol car was quickly dispatched to the scene arriving at Saltwells Bridge by 2am.

By 6am the area around the bridge and a 500 yard section of towpath had already been cordoned off.

Tony Oscar, a 68-year-old retired builder, said: "There were a lot of rumours going around that it was a body so I came up to see what was going on."