Mystery body is missing diver

Police divers searched the wreck but could not trace Ms Stevens

The body of a diver found near the wreck of a historic liner off the Dorset coast has been identified as a woman who disappeared while diving on the sunken ship.

Jemma Stevens, 19, from Honiton in Devon, failed to re-surface after diving on the sunken World War l liner, the Pomeranian, in Lyme Bay on 6 April.

On Sunday, a diver discovered the body lying on the seabed.

Rescue teams from Dorset Police, supported by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, then recovered the body on Tuesday.

An inquest will be opened and adjourned on Monday and a routine investigation will be conducted into the circumstances surrounding Ms Steven's death.

No trace

Rescuers had attempted to retrieve the body on Monday but the search was abandoned due to rough seas and high winds.

The Dorset Police marine unit, working with an Avon and Somerset dive team and two local dive boat skippers, eventually located the body at a depth of 118 feet (36 metres) and 16.4 feet (five metres) from the Pomeranian.

The young diver, who worked as a clerk, lost contact with her fellow crew members from the boat The Quiet Moment as she was re-surfacing on the trip last month.

Ms Stevens, from the Lyme Bay Diving Club, was diving with two other people when she failed to come back up.

Two coastguard helicopters and lifeboats searched the area around the wreck of the liner, which was torpedoed in 1918, but failed to trace her.