Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team's boat was involved in the search

Police believe the man who went overboard yesterday from a pleasure steamer was reported missing from his home earlier in the week.

Tony Thwaites, 62, of Alcester, Warwickshire, has been missing from his home since Wednesday. The search for the man in Ullswater, in the Lake District, resumed today after a major search, including mountain rescuers, failed to find a trace of him.

The incident happened when he was seen by fellow passengers falling overboard from the Lady of the Lake near Sharrow Bay. Police interviewed the 53 passengers on board after the man’s disappearance, which happened about 10.15am yesterday, Thursday.

Mr Thwaites’s gold-coloured Subaru car was found in Pooley Bridge. Police underwater search teams continued looking for the man today,  but a spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was unlikely anyone could survive overnight in the cold water.

Mr Thwaites’s family are being kept informed by a police family liaison officer.