British special forces hero found dead while swimming in Italy

A former British special forces hero has died while swimming in Italy, coastguard officials confirmed today.

Londoner Martin Meazza, 49, is thought to have suffered a seizure after diving into the water late yesterday evening.

His body was spotted floating in the water and local fisherman pulled him ashore and an ambulance raced to the scene but despite efforts to save him he was declared dead at the scene and his body was taken to a local mortuary.

The tragedy happened in the southern Italian seaside town of Agropoli where the former serviceman had moved to from England four years ago.

Italian media reported he had served in Bosnia and he had been a member of the Special Forces and they also described him as having been awarded two bravery medals but these details could not immediately be confirmed.

Mr Martin, who was originally from Chiswick, west London, is said to have walked from England to Italy in 2010 to discover his Italian roots - his grandfather emigrated from Italy - after splitting from his wife.

Coastguard Tadeo Padrocco, who knew Mr Martin, said: “Everyone is really upset. He was a really nice guy, very friendly and all the locals knew him.

“He would go out of his way to help you and we were always joking about his poor Italian and my even worse English.

A Foreign Office spokesman said they were unaware of the death and would investigate.