Boy, 14, drowns while playing in the water at nature reserve Air ambulance, police and paramedics arrived at Ashby Ville reserve yesterday They spent more than three hours finding the boy's body under the water The boy died after playing in the Scunthorpe nature reserve before 3pm By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline Published: 16:59 BST, 28 July 2021 | Updated: 18:01 BST, 28 July 2021 4 Viewcomments A 14-year-old boy has drowned while playing in a nature reserve near Scunthorpe. An air ambulance, police cars, water search teams and paramedics arrived at Ashby Ville Nature Reserve at around 3pm yesterday afternoon. It took emergency services more than three hours to find the boy's body. It comes a week after 23 people died over just seven days in heatwave-related drownings across the country. A police spokesman said: 'At 3pm yesterday officers were called to Ashby Ville Nature Reserve, Scunthorpe, following reports for a concern for safety of a boy in the water. 'Upon attending, it was discovered that a 14 year-old boy had got into difficulty whilst playing at the reserve. An air ambulance, police cars, water search teams and paramedics arrived at Ashby Ville Nature Reserve at around 3pm yesterday afternoon It took emergency services (pictured at the scene) more than three hours to find the boy's body 'Specialist officers from our underwater search unit conducted a thorough search of the water and found the body of the boy in the water, who had tragically drowned.' Detective Chief Inspector Grant Taylor added: 'Our thoughts are with the boy's family and loved ones at this very sad and difficult time. 'They are being supported by our specialist trained officers, as they come to terms with the tragic incident. 'The local neighbourhood police team will continue to support and speak to residents in the area and I encourage people to talk to them if they have any concerns. 'As part of our investigation we are now appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to please contact us. We'd particularly like to speak with a man who we believe may have seen what happened and hold key information that would help with our enquiries. 'He is described as wearing a black polo shirt with grey denim shorts, and is reported to have white hair and a beard.' Ashby Ville, also known as Lakeside, is a popular reserve for visitors in Scunthorpe as a walking spot. If anyone thinks they know man police want to question or has any further information that would help with the police contact them on 101 quoting log 370 of 26 July 2021. The latest tragedy comes after at least 23 people drowned in just a week amid the heatwave that gripped the country. Pictured: Police cars and vans at the scene of the drowning yesterday in Scunthorpe The body of 16-year-old promising young boxer Frank Varey was pulled from the River Dee in Cheshire on July 22, the same day that three more deaths were confirmed. A paddleboarder in his 30s died off the coast of Cornwall, a 19-year-old builder was killed in the water in the Yorkshire Dales while a 55-year-old father tragically drowned in front of his teenage children after the family were caught in a rip tide in North Yorkshire. And the body of a man who went missing on July 22 was then found on July 23. On July 15 Matthew Sherrington, 14, went missing near Steetley Pier and was later found drowned. Two days later Mohammad Abdul Hamid, 16, drowned after going into the River Eden. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility