A BARRINGTON man has died after falling overboard from his yacht off the coast of Essex. The body of Paul Cook, 69, of High Street, Barrington, was discovered by coastguards on sandbanks near West Mersea, Essex, at 1.45pm on Friday. Police had been cond

A BARRINGTON man has died after falling overboard from his yacht off the coast of Essex.

The body of Paul Cook, 69, of High Street, Barrington, was discovered by coastguards on sandbanks near West Mersea, Essex, at 1.45pm on Friday.

Police had been conducting a major search of the area after Mr Cook's boat, Snowfire, was found on nearby sandbanks on Thursday afternoon. No one was on board, and the last entry in the log was at 1.50pm that day.

Mr Cook was the managing director of Heffers Stationers in Cambridge before he retired. He was an active member of the Barrington community, having been a founder member of Friends of Barrington Village Church, and served on the parish council.

He leaves a wife, Margaret, and two sons.

A spokesman for Essex Police said that they are satisfied that there were "no suspicious circumstances" surrounding Mr Cook's death.