A SECOND body has been discovered in a Cambridgeshire Fen after two brothers drowned while going to the aid of three injured geese.

Police divers had already recovered the body of Ashley Yardy, 22, from Lake Mere at the Kingfishers Bridge Project near Wicken Fen at 4.45pm on Sunday.

A second body, that of half-brother Luke Yardy, 17, was found at 5pm last night by divers from the Metropolitan Underwater Search Team and Spartan Rescue. Members of the brothers’ family are aware and were with officers last night.

Investigations are continuing into the tragedy which happened on Saturday as the two brothers, from Stretham, got into difficulties in their wooden boat.

Luke, a trainee gamekeeper, leant over to help the birds but fell overboard: his half-brother Ashley, dived in to rescue him but both are thought to have become entangled in mud and drowned.

Luke’s father Andrew Fountain, 56, was on the bank of Lake Mere and saw the boys go into the water. He raised the alarm and divers began the search for the boys at 9am on Sunday.

Ambulances and doctors from both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire were called to the scene at the weekend including a hazardous area response team who are specially trained for such emergencies.

A memorial page on the social networking site Facebook has already attracted hundreds of tributes for the two brothers.

Dave Yardy, Ashley’s father, said: “They were very close as brothers and spent a lot of time together.”

Inspector Terry Furlong of Cambridgeshire police, said: “Investigations will continue into the circumstances of this tragedy.”