THE body of an elderly man has been pulled from the water at Poole Quay.

Workmen on board a leisure cruiser yesterday discovered the 81-year-old’s body in the harbour, close to the statue of Lord Baden-Powell, shortly before 10.30am.

And a mobility scooter was found close to the water’s edge some way down the quay, opposite the Poole Arms pub.

Shocked residents and workers from the Quay’s businesses told the Daily Echo they saw police officers examining the abandoned vehicle and taking it away.

A member of staff at one pub told the Daily Echo: “They found a mobility scooter further down, near the Poole Arms.

“I saw a couple of officers looking at it.

“A lot of mobility scooter users like to come to the Quay – you see them sitting outside the pubs and cafes watching the world go by.”

He and many others were alarmed to see police cars and an ambulance parked by the Greenslade Pleasure Boat huts.

The body was pulled out of the water via the steps nearby.

He added: “Police were stopping people walking past.

“Then at about 11.20am they came and took the body away.”

Vince Gittins, who witnessed the aftermath, said: “As we were walking past I saw lots of police cars and a van.

“They were taking photographs before they pulled the poor guy up in a bag.

“It isn’t the sort of thing you expect to see.”

Other witnesses said police were inspecting a disability scooter near the edge of the quayside.

Mr Gittings, who works in IT on Poole Quay, said: “It was directly opposite the Boy Scouts’ statue – where the statue is looking out there are some steps and all the activity was going on around there.”

A labourer, who asked not to be named, said: “Two chaps working on the Purbeck Gem boat found him.

“I heard he was an old boy who used to like going along the Quay.

“They found him floating in the water and pulled him out at the steps.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “At 10.28am today, Dorset Police received a report of a body found at Poole Quay.

“The body of a man believed to be 81 years old was located by a passing ferry and recovered from the water.

“There are no suspicious circumstances.

“The coroner and next of kin have been informed.”