The best friend of a man who died in a reservoir accident has told of his shock at his death.

Jonathan David Pardon, 38, of Fartown, was camping with friends near Snailsden Reservoir, near Hade Edge, when he went for a swim on Saturday evening.

When he failed to resurface a massive search and rescue operation was undertaken complete with divers and police helicopters.

The search continued on Sunday with detectives and officers from South and West Yorkshire Police taking part as well as fire crews from as far away as Brighouse and Wakefield.

On Sunday afternoon, police divers finally located his body at 4.05pm.

There are no suspicious circumstances and Mr Pardon’s family have been informed.

This afternoon, Ryan Ainley, 33, said: “He was my best mate. I had known him for six years since he joined our engineering company in Lockwood where he worked as a gear cutter.

“In his younger days he had been into clubbing and he liked his dance music but in more recent years he was into his camping.

“He had climbed Snowdon a few weeks back but didn’t make the summit because of weather complications.

“He used to like to go off with his mates. He has been doing it for a couple of years now. I don’t know that he had any other hobbies but he had plenty of mates and was a good laugh.”

Det Insp Andy Leonard, of Kirklees CID, said Mr Pardon’s mother and sister had been informed of his death.

He reiterated a warning given on Sunday by Yorkshire Water about the dangers of swimming in reservoirs saying however tempting they might look, especially in scorching weather, they contained unseen dangers.

He said: “Unlike a swimming pool you can’t just swim to the side.”

Mr Pardon lived on his own in Bradford Road and his neighbour Gordon Pickup, 90, said: “He moved in eight to 10 years ago. I didn’t know him well but he would talk to me when he came home from work, he was quite friendly and talkative. And if I needed anything doing electrically he would help me.”

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