River Avon weir boat accident leaves man and boy dead

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A man and a boy have died in a family boating accident on the River Avon in Warwickshire.



Another boy and a girl were rescued and taken to hospital after the rowing boat overturned in strong waters at a weir in the Barford area of Warwick.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said the boat capsized after going down the weir at about 17:30 BST.

A member of the public helped rescue one boy and the girl but the bodies of the man and boy were recovered later.

Both were declared dead at the scene, Warwickshire Police said.

It is believed the man was the children's father but police said the names of the victims would not be released until formal identification had taken place.

'Terrible, traumatic incident'

Local residents helped with the rescue attempts while more than 40 firefighters were searching the river, with police, the air ambulance, paramedics and a Hazardous Area Response Team also at the scene.

The children are all thought to be under the age of 10.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said a local resident and a police officer managed to pull the first two children from the water, which was in full flow.

The girl suffered a cardiac arrest and was given CPR by the resident and policemen before being taken to Warwick Hospital by ambulance, a spokesman said.

She was later transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital where she was said to be seriously ill but stable.

The boy who was rescued was taken to the same hospital, conscious but poorly.

The dead boy's body of the was recovered at about 20:30 BST and the man's body was pulled from the river shortly after 22:00 BST.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jim Onions, from Warwickshire Fire Service, said it was a "very terrible, traumatic incident" and said some emergency service workers had been in tears.

He added: "The water is very, very fast-moving. It's white water conditions."

'Feeling of devastation'

Ally Bonner-Evans, the landlady of The Joseph Arch, a nearby pub, said she tried to help police in the early stages of the rescue using a boat belonging to her parents but struggled because of the conditions.

"Unfortunately the river is so high and the current is so fast heading towards the weir, there was no way we could stay in there in a boat at all really," she said.

"There is a massive feeling of devastation in the village at the moment because it's so sad and it's such a tragic thing to happen."

Insp Adrian Davis of Warwickshire Police said it was "a terrible day for many people" but paid tribute to the residents of Barford who he said had been "excellent, supportive and helpful".

A statement issued by the police said: "All the emergency services involved in the operation have expressed their thanks to the people of Barford for their help and support during what has been an extremely difficult and tragic incident and their thoughts are with the bereaved."

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Village in shock after weir tragedy

The deaths of a man and child in a river tragedy have left a village in shock.

The bodies were pulled from the water on Saturday evening after a boat overturned at a weir in the River Avon.

The man, named locally as Julian Mynott, was recovered from the water in Barford, near Warwick, shortly after 10pm.

The body of a young child was pulled from the water around an hour-and-a-half earlier, at about 8.30pm, following a full-scale search by emergency services. Both were declared dead at the scene.

Neighbours in the small village spoke of their shock and said Mr Mynott, an antiques dealer, and his wife Emma had only moved to their picturesque home in February. It is understood the couple had a young son aged around three and a daughter, who is said to be five.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said she thought Mr Mynott was on the river with his children and another young boy, aged around seven, who was a friend of the family. She said: "It's just awful, it's the most terrible, tragic thing."

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said two children were pulled from the waterl. One of the youngsters is in a serious but stable condition in Birmingham Children's Hospital, Warwickshire Police said. The second child is being treated at Warwick Hospital and is described as conscious but poorly.

One woman who lives near the family home said she saw the tragedy as it happened because it unfolded at the bottom of her garden, which backs on to the river. Visibly distressed, she said she had been asked by the police not to talk about the incident.

Police officers from the scientific investigation unit could be seen working along the river, but other than their presence there was little evidence of the terrible events that had occurred.

Charles Barlow, who lives in Barford, said the community was shocked at what had happened. "As kids we used to canoe up and down the river with Scouts, so if ever the river was the way it is now we wouldn't go anywhere near the weir. There's two weirs - there's, if you like, the main weir, which is where the mill was and that's sheer, and that's what I think they've gone over."

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River Avon boat victims' funeral held in Barford



The funeral of a three-year-old boy and his father who died in an accident on the River Avon in Warwickshire has taken place.

Julian Mynott, 42, and his son Freddie, died when their rowing boat capsized near the weir in Barford, on 12 May.

Rescuers were able to save Mr Mynott's two other children, Florence, 6, and seven-year-old Archie, who were both pulled from the river.

The funeral was held at St Peter's Church, in Barford.