Body in river is missing student

Frogmen looking for the 20-year-old discovered the remains in the River Foss yesterday afternoon behind the Castle Museum.

Ethan was last seen on Coney Street at 11.55pm last Sunday.

DI Jackie Smart said “Our thoughts are with Ethan’s family and we will do everything we can to support them at this very difficult time. We would like to thank the members of the public and the media who have supported the appeal.”

City of York Council has launched a campaign after a series of river deaths.

The mother of a 20-year-old student who died after falling into a York river on a night out said council leaders in the city have been forced to act to improve safety after “neglecting it for years”.

Jackie Roberts, whose daughter Megan went missing in 2014 before her body was found in the River Ouse, has been campaigning since the summer to make revellers more aware of the dangers of York’s rivers and bridges.

She says heavy drinking on nights out is just one part of the problem that resulted in three young people drowning after falling into the Ouse or Foss in a matter of weeks.

There have been at least 26 such deaths in 15 years.

The council has allocated £100,000 for riverside improvements, including better safety equipment and fencing, but it says “increasing awareness and personal responsibility is central to preventing future tragedies”.