Teenage boy missing after getting into difficulty in lake in southeast London police say

Search teams are looking for a 16-year-old boy who went missing after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said the boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

In a statement, officers added that emergency services are “co-ordinating a search” and “the park has been evacuated”.

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres. It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.

“We are still at the scene working alongside our emergency services partners.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.