Police have identified a body pulled from a canal in Stoke-on-Trent as that of 53-year-old Kevin Pickstock.
Mr Pickstock’s body was found by a passer-by in the canal between Birches Head and Milton, near Redhills Bridge.
Mr Pickstock, from Smallthorne, was found at around 2.30pm yesterday (March 13).
Local dog walker Richard Hughes, 72, said: “I usually walk down that way.
“This was the first week in years I haven’t walked down here, otherwise it could have been me who found him.”
Police and ambulances attended the scene.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said they believe the death was a “tragic accident” and not considered as suspicious.
Gary Fallows, 50, a local fisherman, who uses that stretch of the canal regularly, said: “I remember a couple years back a guy was found like this in the lock near Shelton, but that was after a fight.”
A spokesman from Staffordshire Police said: “The next of kin has been informed.
“A report is now being prepared for HM Coroner.”