POLICE have found the body of missing York student Ethan Peters in the River Foss.

North Yorkshire Police said this evening that the 20-year-old's family had been informed and they were continuing to receive support from specially-trained officers.

DI Jackie Smart said: “Our thoughts are with Ethan’s family and we will do everything we can to support them at this very difficult time.

"We would like to thank the members of the public and the media who have supported the appeal.”

Police said earlier that underwater search teams and local officers had been conducting extensive searches and the body was found at 1.30pm in the river behind the Castle Museum in York.

A major search operation involving divers and a helicopter had been underway since Ethan, a University of York undergraduate, disappeared a week ago.

He was last seen at 11.55pm on Coney Street in York last Sunday on CCTV in Coney Street, heading towards his home in the Hull Road area.

Divers from the Yorkshire and The Humber marine search unit spent several days in the Foss, while officers also carried out CCTV enquiries to determine what happened to Ethan.

A helicopter was used last Wednesday to search areas in and around the city centre.

On Saturday, police officers carried out ground searches of his usual known route home from the city centre, although it was not known if he took this route on the night he went missing.

Police said his disappearance was totally out of character and they were keeping an open mind about his disappearance.

Family and friends described Ethan as "a likeable character, very friendly, very sociable, very helpful."

He was in a "good mood" and "having a nice social night out" before he went missing, according to police.

Originally from London, he was a student at Goodricke College, part of the University of York, and in his third year studying film and television production.

The university said last week he was a popular member of the college and the wider university community.

Concerns have been growing in recent years about the number of deaths in the Foss and River Ouse, including those of university students.

Extensive searches of the rivers have been carried out since Rory Johnson-Hatfield, 29, from Skipton, went missing during a night out in York last November, but his disappearance remains a mystery.

In 2011, the deaths of three people in the rivers, including bar tender Richard Horrocks, prompted The Press to launch its Think, Don’t Swim campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of jumping or falling in the water and which included a hard-hitting film.

Other more recent deaths in York's rivers include student Megan Roberts, 20, soldier Tyler Pearson, 18, and music store employee Ben Clarkson, 22, who all died in 2014.

Soldier Stephen Fry, 20, died in in 2015, and, in July of this year apprentice builder Christian Palmer, 20, also lost his life.