A body has been found in the search for former England rugby player Tom Voyce, who is believed to have died after his car was swept into a river, Northumbria Police confirmed on Thursday.

The search began on Sunday when Voyce, 43, failed to return home after seeing friends the previous evening, according to Northumbria Police.

Officers recovered his car in northeast England, before a specialist Marine Unit found a body in the river.

“It is believed the 43-year-old had gone into the River Aln near Alnwick – after attempting to cross Abberwick Ford in his car,” a statement from Northumbria Police said.

“Extensive searches were subsequently carried out with a range of partners. Tom’s family and friends were also involved in the search.

“Formal identification is yet to take place but Tom’s next of kin have been notified and are currently being supported by officers.

“This is an extremely sad development and our thoughts very much continue to be with Tom’s loved ones.”

Reports in British media suggest the area was affected by flooding at the time of the incident, as Storm Darragh battered the United Kingdom with strong winds and rain over the weekend.

Voyce played nine times for England between 2001-2006, but also enjoyed a successful club career.

Having started at Bath, Voyce went on to represent Wasps, Gloucester and London Welsh.

In November 2004, Voyce set a record playing for Wasps when he scored the quickest try in Premiership history. After gathering a loose ball from kick-off, he scored a try in 9.63 seconds against Harlequins.

He made 220 Premiership appearances in his career before retiring in May 2013.

There has been an outpouring of emotion for Voyce since police released a statement on Tuesday confirming Voyce’s car had been found.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Tom Voyce at this extremely challenging time,” England Rugby wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Voyce’s former teammate Matt Dawson also paid tribute with a post on Instagram.

“One of life’s wonderful humans… I can’t express my sadness right now,” he wrote, with a picture of Voyce training for England.