A SEARCH of the River Medway was launched on Wednesday after a passer-by reported a body in the water.

An RAF helicopter and coastguard team assisted local police and fire crews at the scene just off the Medway City Estate in Strood. The teams failed to find anything.

The search came nearly three weeks after 24-year old Christopher Lawless, from Mottingham, south east London, disappeared after a night out at Amadeus nightclub in Medway Valley Park, Strood.

A spokesman from Kent Police said: "Police were called at 3.15pm after a member of the public reported seeing something floating in the river."

Officers sealed off the surrounding area and stopped motorists entering the petrol station on Antonys Way. A team from the coastguard mud rescue unit also went to the scene.