EMERGENCY services and volunteers have spent the night searching for a teenager who may have fallen into the River Dart.

Police, the Dart RNLI lifeboat, the fire service, the Coastguard cliff rescue team and helicopter, plus members of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue group were called after friends reported a boy may have gone into the river naked after taking a former ’legal high’.

Police have released the name of the missing boy as 16-year-old Nathan Wood and his family have been informed.A police spokesman said: 'At about 6.30pm yesterday Police received a call about concerns for a teenage boy. He was seen a short time later to jump into the River Dart naked and has not been seen since.'If you can help us with this investigation then please get in touch urgently quoting log 775 050816.'

Acting Sgt Kevin Rowe told the BBC the boy had been with a group of friends before police were called.Sgt Rowe said there was a ’possibility he may have taken some sort of [formerly] legal high which has had an adverse effect on his behaviour and caused him to behave quite irrationally’.

A Dart RNLI spokesman said: ’A sixteen-year-old had been seen to enter the River Dart approximately half a mile upstream of the Totnes Weir.

’When his friends reported him missing a search was co-ordinated by the police and involved two Coastguard Cliff rescue teams and the fire service Swift Water Rescue team from Plymouth.

’When they had found nobody the Coastguard tasked the RNLI Dart inshore lifeboat to search the river downstream of the weir.

’The lifeboat crew searched and found no one.

’Due to the lack of water running over the weir it was thought unlikely that anyone could have been swept over the weir or down the salmon run and the lifeboat was stood down.

The Dart lifeboat crew were Chris Tracey, helmsman; with Dean Nettleton and Chris Rampling, crew.

The launch crew comprised head launcher Simon Amphlett and Stuart Millard, tractor driver.

The request for help was received a 8.11pm and the lifeboat returned to Dartmouth at 11.10pm.

The Dartmoor Search and Rescue team was stood down at dawn.