Village in shock after weir tragedy (From Witney Gazette)

Village in shock after weir tragedy

11:27am Sunday 13th May 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

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 said two children were pulled from the water. 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."