Briton killed by scooter in Rome

A British woman was knocked down and killed by a scooter in Rome hours after her boyfriend tweeted about walking in the capital "not getting hit by mopeds".

Deborah Woods, 31, died as she crossed a main road with Graham Openshaw, 32, in the early hours of Thursday.

The couple, from Bury, Greater Manchester, had reportedly stopped in Rome after Mr Openshaw acted as best man at a friend's wedding elsewhere in Italy earlier in the week.

Clinical psychologist Ms Woods was said to have been killed instantly as she crossed the busy Piazzale Flaminio in the city centre, while her partner was uninjured.

In one of his last tweets before the collision, Mr Openshaw wrote: "Spent the rest of the day wandering through rome. looking at old buildings. nearly seeing berlusconi and not getting hit by mopeds."

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national, Deborah Woods, in Rome on 9 June 2011.

"We are in touch with next of kin and are providing consular assistance. We are also liaising with local authorities to help where we can."

It was reported that the 25-year-old scooter rider was in a serious condition in hospital.