Police were left red-faced when they descended on St Mary Cray and searched for two hours for a body in the river - which turned out to be a bright orange jacket.
Officers were called out to the River Cray, by Central Parade Villas, at 4.09pm yesterday (June 3) following reports of a body in the river.
The Met's Marine Support Unit also attended due to the location being under deep water in an inaccessible part of the weir.
But, when the item was recovered two hours later, it was found to be an orange puffa jacket.
Photos of the operation have been widely shared on social media.
When it was still thought to be a dead body, one person wrote: "Paedophile. I hope."
"That's a big goldfish," wrote another.
And a Facebook user on the Orpington Gossip group wrote: "Could have been a body from Orpington... It was orange enough."
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