A 14-year-old boy died after he jumped into a canal in front of his teenage girlfriend and her siblings.

George Lund was enjoying the Sunday afternoon sunshine on the canal bank in Leeds, West Yorkshire, when tragedy stuck.

According to people who were there, the teenager stripped off and jumped into the water to cool off around 4.30pm on Sunday.

Emergency services from across West Yorkshire race to the scene at Knostrop Fall, Lock 3, just off George Mann Road in the Hunslett area of the city.

According to eyewitnesses, George vanished beneath the water after briefly resurfacing, as frantic efforts by the group were being made in an effort to rescue him.

George, his girlfriend and four others including her younger siblings were enjoying the warm afternoon when the accident happened.

Emergency services arrived within minutes and were quickly in the water in attempts to find the child. 

After a frantic 90 minute search, a body was recovered from the Lock around 90 minutes later.

West Yorkshire police said: “At 4.32pm yesterday (Saturday), police received a concern for safety report for a male in the canal by Thwaite Lane, Leeds.”

“Emergency services attended and recovered a teenage male from the water.”

“He received medical attention at the scene, but was sadly pronounced deceased a short time later.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file has been prepared for the coroner.”

Tributes to George have flooded in on social media and flowers have been left at the scene.

One loved one said: “His girlfriend is my niece's daughter and she is traumatised - and her siblings.

“I have never met this poor boy but this has shocked me to the core.”

Another tribute read: “Wonderful and very polite man. You will be sadly missed.”

A women who said she was the boy's aunt, Lesley Fowler, posted: “This is my nephew. All my family are devastated.”

Other residents said that George had only wanted a cooling dip and bathing in the canal was something a lot of local youngsters did.

Some believed George had died from shock rather than drowning because the temperature of the water was much lower than the on the land.