Police have rejected claims they took too long to respond when a teenager went missing in a river in Derbyshire.

The body of 17-year-old Dale Hibbert was recovered on Sunday after he drowned in the River Derwent near Borrowash Bridge in Elvaston.

Catherine Throw, whose son Ben tried to save the teenager, said she was told police took an hour to respond.

Derbyshire Police said records show an officer got there in 18 minutes, with five others arriving within 20 minutes.

Dale's friend Jamie Slater, who also tried to save him, said: "I jumped in and tried to swim around for him but I couldn't see him."

He said the teenagers were on day out and had gone to the river to cool down.

"We didn't think it was that deep or the current that strong - that's why we went in there," Jamie said.

Mrs Throw said: "There were two or three phone calls to the police but all the kids that were there said it took more than an hour for the police to get there."

A police spokeswoman said their records show an officer responded within 18 minutes and five officers joined the search within 20 minutes.

A search helicopter arrived at the scene within half-an-hour, she added.