Isles of Scilly beach swimmer dies

The man was declared dead at the scene after efforts to revive him failed

A man has died after getting into difficulties while swimming at Porthcressa beach in the Isles of Scilly.

A local man in his early 50s was pulled from the water at about 18:00 BST on Saturday said coastguards and police.

A search was carried out following concern that other swimmers might have been in the area, but no-one else was found.

The man was declared dead at the scene after efforts to revive him failed.

'Sad time'

Sgt Colin Taylor from Devon and Cornwall Police said he was trying to contact two women who had tried to revive the man to help the inquest investigation.

"I know many people witnessed the events on the packed beach but it is the identity of the two Samaritans that I very much need to establish," he said.

He said the man, who has not yet been named, was a "familiar and friendly acquaintance of many of us".

"The next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are very much with them at this sad time," he said.

Police, ambulance, St Mary's RNLI and coastguards were all involved in the operation.

Harbour pair rescued

Two people have been rescued after one of them got into difficulties while swimming in Newquay Harbour.

Coastguards were called about the incident at about 06:30 BST on Sunday after the pair decided to go for a swim.

Both were rescued by a nearby fishing boat which had a lifeboat crew member on board who was alerted to the situation by his pager going off.

Matthew Rogers, from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: "We know it's all too tempting to go for a swim when the weather is good.

"But our advice remains the same, be careful, swim at lifeguarded beaches and don't go into the water if you've been drinking."