TWO bodies have been recovered by the emergency services following separate incidents around the county this week.

On Tuesday morning, firefighters used rescue boats to recover the body of a 74-year-old man from the River Wye in Hereford.

They were called to the stretch of water close to the Great Western Way footbridge just after 10am after the body was found by a passer-by.

Police yesterday (Wednesday) named the dead man as Anthony Virgo, of Brampton Road, Newton Farm, Hereford.

Police are treating Mr Virgo's death as unexplained. A post mortem is due to take place tomorrow (Friday) before an inquest will be opened.

Det Sgt Mark Jinks, from Hereford CID, said: "Mr Virgo was known to be at his home at 9pm on Monday evening and we want to establish when he made his journey to the river.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who saw a man in his 70s walking from the Brampton Road area towards the river. His walking would have been slow and laboured, possibly even shuffling with the aid of a walking stick. He may also have been wearing slippers at the time."

Anyone with any information is being asked to call Det Sgt Mark Jinks at Hereford CID on 08457 444888.

In a separate incident, firefighters were called to Croft Castle, near Leominster, just before 2pm last Thursday after concerns about the welfare of a woman who had been reported missing.

Crews from Leominster and a boat from Hereford attended a pond at the castle where they recovered a body.

She was later identified as June Wason, who was 62 and from the nearby village of Bircher.

Access to part of the grounds at Croft Castle was temporarily closed to the public while the emergency services attended.