A friend of missing man Jason Webb told of his heartbreak of finding his body.
Oliver Binkley was the man who found Mr Webb’s body in the Huddersfield Narrow Canal on Wednesday afternoon and has spoken about what happened for the first time.
Mr Binkley, a 35-year-old welder from Marsden Lane, Marsden, said he had gone looking for his pal and at 2.15pm spotted what he thought at first was a piece of pipe close to Tunnel End Visitor Centre in Marsden.
Realising it was possibly a body he contacted police who arrived immediately.
He said: “My partner Jo knew him before I did. She is best friends with his wife, Emma Webb.
“We lived just down the road from one another. I’ve known him since I came to Marsden in 2007.
“He was a typical lad. He liked to have a beer and we would go for a few beers occasionally and he would come to my house for a brew.
“He was nice, he was quiet.”
Det Insp Andy Leonard of Kirklees CID said: “We can confirm that the body found yesterday is that of missing person Jason Webb .
“His family and the coroner have been informed. There are no suspicious circumstances.”
A post mortem is due to be carried out in Bradford tomorrow (Fri) and an inquest is expected to open in the city on Tuesday.
A huge search operation was carried out for Mr Webb since he was reported missing last Saturday and on Wednesday morning, underwater search teams spent hours looking for the body in the canal and Sparth reservoir in Marsden.
Mr Webb, 40, went missing on Saturday afternoon. He had been due to watch a rugby match in a pub but never arrived.
Nearly 40 tributes were paid to Mr Webb on the Examiner Facebook website saying he had “been taken too soon” and expressing sympathy towards his wife.
