Canal Body Identified

The body of a man found floating in the Regent's Canal in North London has been identified as Laurence Church, 29, a company executive from Kentish Town.

A police spokesperson said that the death was not being treated as suspicious: 'Initial reports suggest that Mr Church fell and struck his head on the edge of the canal. This is a poorly lit stretch of the canal and the body was only found by a jogger yesterday morning.'

The tragedy occurred at a notorious black spot. Only last year the body of another young man, Robert Nichols, was found in the water just yards away. A verdict of accidental death was recorded, but the coroner cited the proximity of a late night canal-side drinking venue as a factor. The local MP, Martin Henderson, last night blamed the events on policies pursued by the government: 'This culture of 24-hour binge drinking is a shameful product of government complacency and my constituent Mr Church is the latest victim. How many more do there need to be?'

A representative of a local residents' group blamed the accident on a lack of lighting and railings along the canal: 'We've been campaigning for these for years but even when people die they don't react.' No government minister was available for comment.