A pensioner who died after falling into a shallow duck pond just yards from his holiday home was this evening named as George Beattie.

The body of the 69-year-old was found by police at the Greenlake Caravan Park in Crimdon, near Peterlee, in the early hours of yesterday.

Officers were called by Mr Beattie's family who feared he had stumbled or slipped in to the holiday park's duck pond.

When officers arrived it took just a few minutes to find Mr Beattie, who lives most of the year at the park and was originally from Newcastle.

After being pulled from the two foot-deep water, officers found he was not breathing and he was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital in Hartlepool at 2.30am.

At the hospital attempts to revive him failed and he was declared dead.

Police, who have ruled out any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, have already established that Mr Beattie spent most of the evening in the on-site pub at the holiday park, which is only 20 metres from the caravan.

A spokesman for Durham Police said "He had been out with members of his family, and they had been drinking in the camp site pub.

"Then he went back to his mobile home 20 metres away for a few minutes, before going back out again.

"His family heard the ducks making a commotion and when he failed to return to the caravan, they raised the alarm."

The scene of the tragedy was cordened off for most of yesterday to allow crime scene investigators to carry out a search.

Mr Beattie's death caused shock among other residents and holiday makers on the popular east Durham site.

A nearby neighbour said Mr Beattie was well known on the site and would be missed.

Last night police confirmed that a post mortem was being carried out to establish the cause of death.

Anyone with information should call police on 0191-3864222.