Friends and family of a student who was found dead in a Dutch canal have called for a video to be removed from the internet which shows his lifeless body in the waterway.

Wayne Davies, 22, was found in a canal in the Dutch town of Leiden on Saturday after he went missing following a night out a week earlier.

The 22-year-old former City College Brighton and Hove student, who is from East Grinstead, had been on holiday with friends.

The first his mother, Pat, knew about his death was when she saw the harrowing video – which was posted by a Dutch radio station.

Friends and family of the apprentice plumber have launched an online petition to get the video removed.

His brother, Dean Davies, took to Facebook to express his sorrow at the clip.

He said: “It breaks my heart but I have been given a report from a contact in Holland and have watched the video and you see Wayne’s head in the water.

“I’m so sorry. I’m broken. I will miss you forever”

He then commented under the video which was posted on the website of the Sleutelstad radio station.

He said: “This is video footage of my brother’s dead body in the canal. We have asked the reporting company to remove it, which they have refused to do. Please help us to shut this video down.”

The video, which is one minute 38 seconds long, shows the 22-year-old’s head in the canal as locals crowd along the banks.

Divers are then seen recovering his body before it is taken away in a grey van.

Friend Caroline Robertson, from Crawley, set up an online petition, which at the time of going to press had gained more than 500 signatures calling on the video to be removed.

Friend Stephanie Kellar, from Fareham, also contacted the editor of the radio station to ask for it to be removed.

Chris de Waard responded in a message on his website.

He said the decision to publish had been discussed with the editorial team.

Translated into English, he added: “There are people who think that I have with the publication crossed a line.

“They are indeed unpleasant images. Especially for the family, friends and others involved.

“News by definition is sometimes unpleasant. Images of refugees drowned in brackish boats, victims of chlorine gas attacks in Syria, held aloft severed heads as background images in the broadcast at Pauw and Witteman.

“All horrible images, but news.”