A COMMUNITY has expressed sympathy after a pensioner’s body was found at sea.

Emergency services were called to Lower Marine Parade, Dovercourt, on Friday afternoon.

The East of England Ambulance Service was called at 1.50pm to reports the man was found unconscious and not breathing in the sea.

Two ambulance officers were dispatched to the scene, but the 69-year-old man was already dead.

Police rushed to the scene shortly before 1.55pm.

Police are treating the death as unexplained but said the circumstances surrounding the death are not believed to be suspicious.

A a file is being prepared for the coroner.

A Harwich RNLI spokesman said the inshore lifeboat was launched to the incident, but no action or intervention was need from the lifeboat crew.

The lifeboat was stood down a short time later.

He said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the individual.”

An East of England Ambulance spokesman said: “Our thoughts go to his friends and family.“

Residents have taken to Facebook to pay tribute to the man.

One user said “so sad, thoughts are with his family and friends” and another user said “my love to his family”

Former Harwich mayor Dave McLeod said: “It’s terribly sad news for everyone concerned, especially the family and friends of the man.

“We need to get to the bottom of it to find out whether it was just an accident or not.”

“We express our condolences to the man’s family.

“Until we know more detail it is hard to say how it happened, but we don’t want these things to happen.”