Police today confirmed that a body found floating in the North Sea was that of a missing pensioner.

The body was 66-year-old Raymond Laing was discovered in the North Docks of Seaham Harbour, County Durham, at around 3pm on Tuesday.

The keen walker, who regularly travelled along the coastal footpaths between his home in Ryhope, Sunderland and Seaham, had not been seen since 6pm on Monday when he left his home address.

On Tuesday, Northumbria Police issued a media alert asking for sightings of the grey-haired and tanned pensioner, but only hours later his body was spotted in the sea.

A post mortem examination will be carried out today at the University Hospital of North Durham to determine the exact cause of death, but there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.