Man and woman drown trying to rescue children

Two people have drowned in separate incidents while trying to save children who subsequently escaped unharmed.

David Walsh, 40, died in front of his children as he was trying to rescue two boys from the sea off Lincolnshire. Zoubeda Mosafeer, 33, was killed attempting to help her son out of the river Orchy in Argyll.

In the first of the incidents, both on Tuesday night, Mr Walsh spotted the boys, aged 10 and 13, in the sea off the holiday resort of Ingoldmells.

A crew member from a Skegness lifeboat also spotted the children and helped them to safety. But Mr Walsh, from Alvaston in Derby got into difficulties and was unconscious when he was pulled from the sea. He could not be revived.

Inspector Dick Holmes, a spokesman for Lincolnshire Police, said the boys, who were both in good condition, were not related to Mr Walsh and came from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. He said: "Mr Walsh was on the beach with his son and daughter when he saw the two boys in the water. His wife was back at the caravan where they were staying."

In the other incident, Ms Mosafeer drowned while trying to save her son, Parvez, aged 13, who slipped into the water while playing on a river bank at the base of waterfalls between Bridge of Orchy and Dalmally, in Argyll.

She jumped into the water to rescue her son but, while he managed to pull himself to safety further down the river, she lost consciousness. Mrs Mosafeer was given emergency treatment at the scene before being taken to Lorn and Islands District General Hospital in Oban, but medics were unable to save her.

Chief Inspector Alisdair, Dewar of Oban Police, said the family, from Ilford in Essex, had been on holiday in Scotland and staying in Dunoon, Argyll.