The murky world of police scuba divers

Underwater search teams are a familiar sight during major police investigations. In a recent triple murder investigation in Bradford, they were a photographed as they made the grisly search for evidence that may have been dumped in the river.

But what is it like to make a living probing the country's murkiest recesses?

One officer who has to contend with these challenges on a daily basis is Sgt Steve Howe, 39, who has served with Northumbria Police's Marine Unit for eight years and admits that nothing could have prepared him for the murky reality of Tyneside and Wearside's hidden depths.
"If you're claustrophobic, it's definitely not for you," he said.

"About 90per cent of the time you have absolutely no visibility. You've always got the danger of entanglement. And let's face it, it isn't very pleasant when you're called out at 3am in February."

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