Two killed as gales strike in festive getaway

The body of a man was pulled from the swollen Rothay River, in Ambleside, Cumbria, after a search was launched when a member of the public reported seeing a man fall in.

Just after an hour later, a body was recovered and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cumbria Police warned people not to enter local rivers or lakes, describing the water as “very fast moving and dangerous”.

North Wales Police said they had been alerted to reports of a woman in a river at Nant Ffrancon, Bethesda, at 3.57pm yesteday.

Police officers, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and a Mountain Rescue Team were called to help but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Both deaths are being investigated.