Photo courtesy of Shropshire Fire and Rescue

The body of a man believed to be missing Shropshire pensioner Ted Corbett has been dragged from the River Severn after being spotted by a passer-by.

Emergency services were in the water at Buildwas, near Ironbridge, for almost three hours yesterday after receiving reports of a body in the river just before 5pm. Police said today there was a “strong possibility” it could be Mr Corbett.

The pensioner disappeared on December 21, the day his brother John Corbett, 77, was found dead with stab wounds to his neck at the end terrace cottage they had shared for years together at The Nabb in St Georges, Telford.

At the time officers spent more than three days searching a section of the River Severn between Cressage near Shrewsbury and Ironbridge for Ted Corbett, 66, following a reported sighting of him and his car in the area.

The search was eventually called off and detectives have been playing a waiting game since then as freezing weather hampered any further river searches.

Today Telford police spokesman Chris Ammonds said the search for Ted Corbett now appeared to be over after last night’s discovery.

Officers are not believed to be looking for anybody else in connection with either death.

“We are keeping an open mind but early indications suggest there is a strong possibility the body is that of Mr Corbett,” Mr Ammonds said.

“There has been no formal identification yet, but the man we found looks to be at least above the age of 50 and it looks at this stage like it could be Mr Corbett.

“The body of the man we found matches a similar description to that of Mr Corbett and we are looking into that.

“There is also no-one else missing locally who we think it could be.”

Police, paramedics and fire crews were called to the scene and a rescue boat and specialist equipment was used to retrieve the body from the water.

An inquest opened last month on John Corbett, a retired carpenter, revealed his death was caused by “blunt trauma to head and face and stab wounds to neck”.

It was adjourned to a date still to be fixed while further investigations were carried out.