A PUBGOER’S body was discovered in the River Thames after locals found his dog alone the next morning.

The body was found at about midday on Sunday in the River Thames at Bourne End.

The man, who has yet to be officially named, was with his dog in the nearby Bounty pub in Cockmarsh the night before.

Locals found his dog asleep in a boat with his lead still wet at about 11.15am the next morning.

Police are not treating his death as suspicious.

Bounty landlord David Wright said the man was 39 and married with no children and lived in Bourne End.

He said: “He left about ten. I suppose he went round the back way across the field because he doesn’t like the water, he couldn’t swim.

“We found him the next day. We saw his mobile phone on the bottom of the river which we fished out.

“It was the dog they found first of all in the morning, wandering round. He was in someone’s boat.

“They brought the dog to the pub and the lead was wet. It was obvious he had been out all night.

“They knew how much he loved the dog so knew something must have happened.”

Mr Wright said the man was from Yorkshire and worked as a gardener. His wife was abroad at the time of the tragedy, he said.

He said: “I only knew him for about eight or nine months but he became a very good friend. He was a very well-liked man, he was always happy.

“He had a lot of friends in the pub.

“We were arranging for his 40th birthday in a couple of weeks time.”

Thames Valley Police spokesman Sue Maloney said: “We were called at about 11.15am on Sunday to reports of a missing person.

“A man’s body was found in the river.”