Girl, 6, dies after going into sea at Margat

The youngster had been visiting the seaside resort from Erith, south-east London

A six-year-old girl has died after going into the sea at Margate harbour.

The youngster, from Erith, south-east London, was taken to hospital after the alarm was raised at 15:15 BST on Saturday.

She later died despite the rescue efforts of the South East Coast Ambulance Service and lifeguards.

Kent Police said it had been “called to concerns for a girl in the sea”. It added there were no suspicious circumstances.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

‘Swarmed the harbour’

A witness, who did not want to be named, said the beach was “heaving” with tourists on what he described as a “warm but windy day”.

He said he saw the emergency services “swarm” the harbour as they tried to rescue the girl.

The father-of-three said: “[It] makes me want to avoid going in the water.”

Shannon Owen told the BBC: “[I] heard a lot of sirens.

“Got up to look out of the window to see the police running across the beach while the girl was getting CPR.”

Two bodies were recovered on Saturday in separate incidents.

A 15-year-old boy whose body was found near Clacton Pier in Essex has been named locally as Ben Quartermaine.

The body of a man in his 20s was pulled from the Great Ouse in Bedfordshire, amid reports someone had got into difficulty in the water on Friday afternoon.