A teenager from East Ham is believed to be missing, feared dead, at a Scottish waterfall beauty spot.

The young man was sucked into an undercurrent and pulled into a cave at the Falls of Bruar, Perthshire, yesterday while trying to save his friend who had also got into difficulty.

Emergency services scrambled to the gorge after the alarm was raised at 5.40pm and a subsequent search operation was launched.

A source who knows the teenager said seven people formed a human chain out of their garments to try to save him but were unable to hold on.

The individual told the Recorder: “The current kept pulling him down and he just got caught up in that.”

The young man who first got into trouble is said to be out of danger but he and his friends are said to be in shock.

They had been jumping into the water for about an hour when the current began to speed up and became stronger.

The source added that the young man was a hard-working, loyal family person who was having fun while on holiday.

Perthshire’s Falls of Bruar are a popular tourist destination for abseiling and swimming with some people choosing to cliff-jump off the waterfalls.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed a search operation for one person is set to resume today and the family had been informed.