A BODY found in the sea off South Wales is missing Scottish teenager Hollie McClymont, police have confirmed.

The 14-year-old, from Glasgow, had not been seen since she went swimming off Barry Island on Sunday.

More than 40 specialist officers were deployed in the search for the teenager, as well as a helicopter and Coastguards.

Yesterday, detectives broke the news Hollie's family had been dreading – a body had been found near to where the schoolgirl was last seen alive.

Last night, Chief Inspector Marc Lamerton, of South Wales Police, said: "We can confirm that a body recovered from the sea near Fontygary in the Vale of Glamorgan has been formally identified as that of 14-year-old Hollie McClymont.

"Our thoughts are with Hollie's family at this difficult time."

Hollie, who attended St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Jordanhill, had gone to South Wales with her mother, Sarah, for a holiday.

Police said the Scottish family chose Barry Island because they have relatives living in the area.

The teenager was last seen getting into difficulty at around 2.45pm on Sunday off the coast of Whitmore Bay, which is a popular destination for sun-seekers.

However, officers said emergency crews were not alerted to the incident until an hour after she was last seen, something Coastguards said they were "dumbfounded by".

Once the alarm had been raised, life-savers sprang into action, calling on the skills and local knowledge of RNLI crews as well as deploying a helicopter in the area.

But 24 hours later, Coastguards said they had exhausted their efforts to find Hollie and formally handed the investigation over to police.

St Thomas Aquinas head teacher, Andrew McSorley, said: "It was a terrible shock to learn of Hollie's death.

"She was due to start fourth year in August and everyone at the school who knew her will be shocked and saddened by this awful news.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they deal with their devastating loss."

Fontygary is a small seaside village three miles south-west of Barry with a small stony beach and a holiday and leisure park nearby.

Currents outside the relative protection of Whitmore Bay will carry an object up or down the coastline and eventually out to sea.

stef.lach@heraldandtimes.co.uk