A body believed to be that of the missing firefighter Anthony Knott has been found in a Sussex river, police have said. Police recovered the body from the River Ouse at Newhaven, East Sussex, on Friday morning after being alerted by a member of the public.

Knott, a 33-year-old father of four from Orpington in Kent, disappeared on 20 December after visiting a pub in Lewes with colleagues. Sussex police had deployed boats, dogs, drones and helicopters in their three-week effort to find him.

On Friday, DI Mark Rosser said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Anthony at this difficult time. We too are saddened by this update and would ask the public and media to respect the family’s privacy at this time.

“We would like to thank the public for their tremendous support with our investigation into the disappearance of Anthony, along with our partner agencies and volunteers who assisted with the search.”