A grant of £10,000 is to be spent on specialist equipment which will help speed up searches for people who have gone missing in water.

Experts say it means search teams will spend less time looking in the same spot, and help provide answers more quickly for concerned friends and family "whose worlds have been turned upside down".

Police have given the money to Maidstone-based Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) and it will go towards a new sonar-enabled remote operated vehicle (ROV).

Thanks to the force's property fund – which is generated from the sale, at auction, of items seized in police operations – the new Blue Robotics ROV will significantly improve the charity’s underwater search capabilities.

The ROV – which is equipped with cameras, sonar and recovery systems – builds on specialist sonar equipment donated by Kent Fire and Rescue (KFRS).

This will see KSAR stepping up to provide a comprehensive emergency response to underwater searching for both the police and KFRS.

KSAR water and sonar lead Chris Beer said: “This major investment will make searching rivers and lakes in Kent much quicker and far more efficient.

“If, tragically, the missing person has drowned, our new sonar and recovery equipment will also bring much faster closure to families and friends of loved ones, who will be desperately awaiting news."

Chris explained that the new ROV will give KSAR search experts a quick and positive indication of whether a sonar-located target is the body of a missing person or underwater debris – something KSAR’s current sonar equipment cannot do.

As a result, it will drastically cut the time KSAR volunteers and the emergency services spend on each search area.

KSAR secretary Brian Tinham said: “Additionally, KSAR’s new sonar ROV will significantly improve safety to our search and rescue volunteers, as well as police and fire and rescue officers, and recovery divers, who will not need to spend as much time in or around dangerous waters.

“It is a sad fact that we are searching water for more and more missing people each year.

"This is dangerous work and currently can last days if not weeks.

“But most important of all, this investment will help bring much faster certainty to families and friends whose worlds have been turned upside down.”

KSAR has been to 59 call-outs this year, bringing the total number of jobs to 1,308.