Lebohang Carrington Sibanda was playing with friends at Ashbyville Pond in Scunthorpe when his makeshift raft broke, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said.

He was the third child to die in the pond in the last eight years, following the drowning of Louise Wood, 12, and eight-year-old Hayleigh Hinton in August 2000.

A schoolfriend said he and Carrington had been part of a group enjoying the sunny evening, but he had not realised he was missing until they left.

Trafford McCullagh, 16, said: "One lad, who I'd not seen before, told me that Carrington had found a polystyrene raft and used it as a boat to go across the water, but it had snapped in the middle and he had gone in the water."

He added: "It's unbelievable he has died... I feel very sad for him and his family; he's not lived his life."

Friends at Frederick Gough School in Scunthorpe were being comforted by staff.

North Lincolnshire Council, which owns the pond with Lincoln Diocese, said it had three lifebuoys on water safety signs at the site, which were replaced after being vandalised