Bournemouth victim was fabulous young man - family

Joe Abbess, 17, was pulled from the water near Bournemouth Pier

The family of a 17-year-old boy who died after being pulled from the sea in Bournemouth say they are "heartbroken and devastated" at his death.

Joe Abbess and a 12-year-old girl, named locally as Sunnah Khan, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, died in the incident involving 10 swimmers on Wednesday.

Joe and Sunnah both suffered critical injuries and died in hospital.

Joe's parents said they had been "privileged to have him in our lives".

Dorset Police said it was continuing to investigate what had happened.

More than 200 people are understood to have attended Sunnah Khan's funeral on Saturday

In a statement, Joe's family said they and his friends would "always love him" and were "incredibly proud of the fabulous young man he was".

"He was kind and generous, loving and caring, hardworking and funny," they said.

"Joe was a talented trainee chef, with a bright future ahead of him... we are so sorry he will never fulfil his dreams and ambitions."

The beach was cleared as emergency services attended the incident

They said Joe had been enjoying a day at the beach on Wednesday, adding: "We would like to thank his friends and all of the emergency services who helped him, when this tragedy unfolded."

Emergency services were called to the scene, which was packed with people on half-term holidays, just after 16:30 BST.

Eight other swimmers were rescued and treated on the beach.

RNLI and Dorset Police have had an "increased presence" along the seafront over the weekend following the incident.

RNLI and Dorset Police have had an "increased presence" along the seafront over the weekend

More than 200 people are understood to have attended Sunnah's funeral on Saturday, held by High Wycombe Mosques.

An earlier police statement confirmed there was no physical contact with a jet ski or boat and no-one jumped from the pier during the incident.

A man in his 40s, who was on the water at the time of the incident, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and has since been released while inquiries continue.