A man was being questioned on suspicion of murder after two bodies were found in a pond near an Army barracks.

The bodies are believed to be those of missing 17-year-old Hugo Wenn and Daniel Lloyd, understood to have been in his 20s. Police are working on the theory that the pair and the 54-year-old suspect knew each other.

The two bodies were found almost 10 hours apart in Reed Pond, behind Howe Barracks in Canterbury, Kent, on Monday.

The first, understood to be Hugo, was spotted by a member of the public at around 12pm and the second was found by police divers at 9.40pm.

The deaths are being treated as unexplained pending post-mortem examinations and formal identification has not yet taken place.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said: "Police search and forensic teams remain at the scene at this time, and officers from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate major crime team have set up an incident room to investigate these deaths."

Tributes were paid to 6ft 3in "gentle giant" Hugo by friends and teachers at the Archbishop's School in Canterbury, which he left after sitting his GCSEs last summer. He was described as an accomplished beatboxer and busker who excelled in drama, sport and music at school.

His former head teacher Michael Liddicoat said there was a "sense of complete shock at this loss" at the school, adding: "In many ways, Hugo was a gentle giant who was about 6ft 3in so you couldn't miss him around school. He was fantastic with the younger students and he will be missed."

Reed Pond is on Ministry of Defence land behind Howe Barracks but MoD officials ruled out any connection between the deaths and the armed forces.

Chief Inspector Steve Barlow, the district commander for Canterbury, appealed for anyone who may have been near Reed Pond between 5pm last Friday and 11am on Monday to contact police.