A Financial Times journalist was killed by a crocodile whilst washing his hands in a lagoon in Sri Lanka during a holiday with friends.

Paul McClean, 24, an Oxford University graduate, is believed to have wandered off from friends in order to go to the toilet, before being ambushed by the reptile as he dipped his hands in the water.

He is said to have been seen “waving his hands in the air” in desperation before being dragged under water at a lagoon known as Crocodile Rock, located just just minutes from a popular surfing beach.

It is believed Mr McClean had only arrived in the country within the last few days and was staying at a nearby hotel with a group of friends.

Raised in the Thames Ditton area of Surrey, he graduated from Oxford with a First Class Honours degree in French in 2015 before joining the FT later that year.

He most recently covered Brexit and the EU for the newspaper and had recently spent a couple of months living in Brussels before returning to London earlier this year.

His most recent article, about the champagne industry, was published on Tuesday.

A colleague of Mr McClean on the FT said: “We’re all totally stunned. He was a great kid, an Everton fan, super bright. It’s an absolute tragedy.”