Last updated at 15:50, Sunday, 01 July 2012

A married couple have died after their car came off a bridge and plunged into a fast flowing Cumbrian beck.

The tragedy happened at 3.35pm yesterday afternoon as the car the couple were in was driving down an embankment on the B6260 at Hoff, near Appleby.

Bystanders - including some from the nearby New Inn pub - made a desperate attempt to reach the man and his wife after their blue Vauxhall Omega left the bridge and crashed into rain swollen Hoff Beck, coming to rest on its roof.

Firefighters worked alongside paramedics, including a crew from the Great North Air Ambulance.

After what police say were “protracted” efforts, the elderly couple were freed but pronounced dead at the scene.

A Cumbria  police spokesman said today that the man and his wife are likely to be formally identified later today.

The road was closed for four hours as police and emergency crews worked at the scene.

Trained poolice family liaison workers are currently working with the relatives of the couple who died.

The spokesman added: “Police want to hear from any witnesses to this collision and from anybody who may seen the car driving along the B6260. Police can be contacted on the non-emergency police number 101.

The officer leading the investigation is sergeant 615 Paul Brown.

First published at 13:27, Sunday, 01 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk