Parents who were visiting a playground on The Rye yesterday when the dead body of a man was discovered, have criticised detectives for not doing more to ensure children could not see the body.

A temporary cordon was placed at the scene near the water’s edge after the body was recovered from The Dyke, but residents say many young children could see through the “shield” leaving some distressed.

Thames Valley Police has since said that efforts were made to screen the deceased person from the view of the public.

READ MORE HERE: Dead body found on The Rye by members of the public.

Dozens of families visited The Rye throughout Tuesday, with many making the most of the half-term break.

Parent Lisa Largey said: “I was further over the other side and heard people saying that someone had been pulled out of the water. It wasn’t very nice, particularly with having so many children about.

“They’ve just pulled them out and it was obviously not very nice because it’s a children area.

“It’s a shock and sad, but I was just trying to keep my little boy away from it. People kept going over there and talking with police, but I didn’t want to do anything unusual and scare him at all.”

She added: “You just have to feel so sorry for the person’s family too.”

Ashley Craven, from High Wycombe, said: “I could see the body lying close to the water and to me it looked like a man - that has obviously been confirmed now.

“It’s usually a quiet area, but it can be very popular down here and it is awful to think about what has happened.

“From where the trees are along the back you could see directly where the body is lying.

“They could have closed it off a little bit better than they did.

“Obviously with it being a bit of a rush they did what they could, but more could have been done afterwards.”

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Another parent, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s horrible for everyone here. It’s half-term and there are a lot of kids down here. We were here when they found the body and three hours later you can still see it – it’s disgusting.

“They could have done more to try and take attention away from it.”

Attempts were made to screen the body using signs owned by the Boat House Café on The Rye.

Police spokesman Connie Primmer said: “In circumstances such as this, efforts are made to set up a cordon and shield the deceased person from public view as soon as possible.

“The priority is always to attempt to save someone’s life, preserve any evidence, and identify the deceased at the earliest opportunity to ensure that next of kin can be informed.

“In this case, once it was confirmed that the man had sadly died, a full tent and screens were requested, but obviously it takes some time for these to get to the scene.

“In the meantime, the body was shielded from public view, utilising what screening was available, and was then removed in a dignified way by accredited undertakers at the earliest opportunity.”