POLICE searching the River Weaver in Northwich for a man have found a body.

Shortly before 5am today emergency services were notified that two people were in the river near Weir Street.

They had entered the water after one of the dogs they were walking had fallen into the river. Officers, firefighters and paramedics attended.

On arrival a 20-year-old woman from Northwich was hanging on the side of a steep embankment.

Firefighters put a ladder alongside the embankment and helped her to get out of the water and onto dry land.

The woman was then assessed by paramedics before being taken to hospital in an ambulance. She has subsequently been discharged.

An extensive search of the river and its banks was conducted for the other person who had entered the river, a 21-year-old man from Northwich.

The search involved a police helicopter and an underwater rescue team.

A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service rescue boat and swift water rescue teams with rafts were also involved in the search.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: "Sadly, at around 2.10pm, the underwater rescue team found a body in the river. The body is believed to be that of the 21-year-old man.

"His family have been informed. The death is not being treated as suspicious. The dog that was in the water was rescued by firefighters."

Seven fire engines attended the incident, from Lymm, Northwich, Widnes, Penketh, Powey Lane, Warrington and Winsford, along with a water rescue unit from Warrington and a hydraulic platform and a line rescue unit from Lymm.