Family ‘heartbroken’ as they name missing Devon swimmer

One of the swimmers who went missing during a Christmas Day swim has been named on social media.

Family of Matthew Upham, owner of an antiques shop in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, issued a statement on his Instagram business page.

Emergency services had been searching for the area after two men in their 60s and 40s went missing in the sea at Budleigh Salterton on Thursday shortly after 10:25 GMT. The coastguard search operation was called off at around 17:00.

The statement on the business’s Instagram story read: “Our family is heartbroken by the loss of our beloved family member Matthew Upham, who was reported missing on Christmas morning.”

It continued: “Matthew is deeply loved and will be forever missed.

“We would like to express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the emergency services who responded, particularly the RNLI and coastguard, for their dedication, professionalism and tireless efforts during this extremely difficult time.

“We are profoundly grateful for their compassion and support.”

“As we grieve and support one another, we kindly ask that our family’s privacy is respected. We thank everyone for their understanding, kindness and condolences.”

Police said at 13:00 on Friday the men remain missing and inquiries were ongoing, adding police presence remains at the scene.

The BBC has approached Devon and Cornwall Police for more information.