A 999 call was made after a life-like doll was mistaken for a human body (Picture: Essex Police / SWNS)

Police officers breathed a huge sigh of relief after they were called to reports of a body in a lake… but it turned out to be just a doll.

Cops feared the worst when they received the dreaded 999 call that a person had been spotted floating face down in the water in Essex.

After rushing to the scene in Colchester, rural officers worked to bring the suspected body to shore today.

When it was pulled from the lake, they instead discovered a life-like children’s toy.

With a full head of hair, the doll looked eerily realistic.

But the officers on duty won’t mind a jot, given the nature of the call was initially thought to be a potential fatality.

Essex Police admitted it was thankful at what was ultimately a relatively harmless discovery.

Officers were extremely relieved when they discovered it was just a doll… (Picture: Essex Police / SWNS)

The force tweeted: ‘Today we were called to a body floating face down in a deep lake @EPColchester. 

‘Using a thrown line, we were able to get the body to the bank and recover it.

‘To our huge relief it was a realistic child’s doll! 

‘Sometimes police work is traumatic. Sometimes you just have to laugh!’

Last month, a 15-year-old girl died while swimming in a dam, while the body of woman in her 30s was pulled from a lake.

In the USA, a man’s body is still missing after he accidentally filmed himself drowning with a GoPro camera when his kayak capsized on a glacial lake.

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‘Sometimes police work is traumatic, sometimes you just have to laugh.’