A body recovered from the river Thames near Putney Bridge on January 8 is thought to be that of missing teenager Adrian Palaniciuc, who disappeared in December.

Police launched an appeal after the 17-year-old went missing from his home in Whitton Road, Hounslow, where he was last seen by his mother at about 7pm on December 4.

It is believed the Romanian teenager was in the Richmond Bridge area at about 9.30pm.

The body was recovered by RNLI lifeboat crews at 8.30am on January 8 near Putney Wharf.

The body of another 17-year-old, Conor O’Donoghue, was recovered later the same day, at about 4.30pm by Chiswick Pier.

A postmortem examination of Adrian's body took place this morning and  was inconclusive, but the death is not being treated as suspicious.

A police spokesman said: “The cause of death wasn’t established so it is subject to further tests.”

Formal identification has not yet been made, but the family have been informed, police said.