'I couldn't find her': Woman tells of desperate effort to save girl, 11, who fell into Thames as search is scaled back

A mother has told how she tried in vain to find a missing 11-year-old girl who went paddling in the Thames River.

Emergency services scaled back their search for the girl on Monday night after a “large scale response” was launched to locate her.

Police had been called to Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport at 1.15pm on Monday.

Lifelong area resident Kerry Benadjaoud, 62, said: "My neighbour next door, she was outside doing her garden and there was two little kids running, and they said 'my friend's in the water'."

The neighbour called Ms Benadjaoud, who said she then went to pick up a nearby life ring.

The two women live on a residential street that leads onto Barge House Causeway - a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats.

A man told Ms Benadjaoud that he had called the police, she said, adding: "But he said at the time he could see her (the girl's) hands going down. So, by the time I got down there with the ring I couldn't find her."

Ms Benadjaoud said she found shoes, a sock, a coat and a phone near the river, and handed the items to the police.

A young boy who had been playing with the girl claimed he tried to hold her hand after she entered the water but it slipped, Ms Benadjoud said.

She went on: "The little boy turned around and said 'I tried to hold her hand but it slipped'.

"I said to the little boy's parents obviously he needs to see someone because it's going to affect him later".

The boy was about eight or nine years old, Ms Benadjaoud added.

"Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down."

Barge House Causeway is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats, and residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and is slippery.