The body of Polish worker Wojciech Chwiecko has been pulled from the River Severn almost a week since he went missing from his job in Chaxhill.

The 33-year-old was last seen alive at the Severn and Wye Smokery where he worked on Wednesday, August 22.

His body was recovered from the Severn between Broadoak and Newnham-on-Severn on Tuesday evening following a major operation involving dozens of emergency services staff and a police helicopter.

Villager Dave Eaton was walking his dog with friends on the river bank when they spotted the body in the water just before 7pm.

"We saw something floating down the middle of the river and thought it was a sheep at first," he said.

"I looked through a telescope on the river bank and told the others that it wasn't a sheep and that we needed to call the police.

"The fire service arrived first but because of the current it took a while to recover the body.

"There were about 20 people in the village watching what was going on and at one point the body floated by only a couple of yards from the bank.

"The Polish people who live in the village were there and were able to identify the body from the tattoos.

"It was very upsetting for them.

"Communication was a bit difficult but we tried to get across that we were feeling for them."

Police, paramedics, firefighters and members of the Severn Area Rescue Association were called in and managed to recover the body within a couple of hours.

"We suspected they were looking for a body because the police were all looking for something in the water," said a Newnham resident, who did not want to be named.

"There was a helicopter, ambulances, a couple of fire engines and a lot of unmarked police cars.

"The firefighters were at the side of the river dashing about on the bank and people looking out onto the water with binoculars. It looked like a lot of people had come down from Newnham to see what was going on."

Formal identification is yet to take place but officers are in the process of informing the family of Wojciech Chwiecko. The man's death is being treated as unexplained.

Severn and Wye Smokery owner Richard Cook said it would be inappropriate for him to make any comment as a formal identification had yet to take place.

The coroner has been informed.