RIDDLE OF DEAD SURFER

His body was spotted still attached to a board. It is thought he had been dead for about 24 hours when he was found on Thursday.

The sea at Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, was calm that day but the day before it had been ideal for surfing.

The surfer’s Volkswagen camper van was found parked nearby and officers are now trying to identify his body. A post mortem examination will take place on Monday.

There were about 20 surfers in the sea on Wednesday taking advantage of 5ft waves whipped up by 30mph south-westerly winds.

Local surfer Guy Penwarden said: “The surfing community is very upset by what has happened. I was in the water on Wednesday and knew about two-thirds of the surfers there but I don’t know who he was.”