Britons in 
holiday 
beach 
tragedy

The woman, named in reports as Christine Sugarhood, went into the water off a beach in Paphos to help her husband after he was caught in rough seas on Tuesday, local police said.

But she got into difficulties, and a fellow holidaymaker rushed in to help her.

The man, named as Harry Bernard, reportedly dragged Mrs Sugarhood on to the beach and tried to revive her, but collapsed himself. They were taken to medical clinics but both pronounced dead.

A spokesman for the police in Paphos said that following post-mortem examinations a coroner had found they both died from heart attacks.

The incident occurred in the Yeroskipou area of the tourist resort in the south-west.

The Cyprus Mail newspaper reported that there were no lifeguards on the beach at the time because they only work until the end of October.

Mr Bernard, reportedly aged 61 and from London, and Mrs Sugarhood and her husband Norman, reportedly from Haywards Heath in West Sussex, were all staying at the four-star Athena Beach Hotel.

The hotel’s duty manager, who asked not to be named, said Mrs Sugarhood, 66, and her husband, who is around 80, checked in on Monday and that Mr Bernard arrived with his wife on Saturday.

She said that both Mrs Sugarhood and Mr Bernard had been loyal customers of the hotel for many years, and that their partners were being comforted there by friends and family.