Mother of girl, 3, drowns rescuing dog from swollen river - Telegraph.co.uk

He said: "We believe the couple were here with dogs and at the time the river was swollen. The river level was at a higher level than it is at the moment.

"It's speculation to say whether or not the dogs have gone into the river and one or both of the couple have gone in to save the dogs. We haven't got a witness to confirm that."

Peter Wright, 44, the uncle of David Platt, his wife Samantha, 38 and their children laid flowers at the scene of the tragedy.

The couple paid tribute to their nephew who they described as a "strong, lovely lad" who had recently proposed to Alicia, who had a three-year-old daughter, Ella.

Mr Wright said: "I can't understand why this has happened. We are a large family but very close.

"Alicia was a lovely girl and they loved each other very much.

"David was the type of lad who would come and give you a hug in the street. He was very friendly."

The 25 year-old's young cousins Emily, 14, and Robyn, three, laid flowers on the banks of the Clwedog River in North Wales as crowds gathered.

Mrs Wright added: "They had been going out for about a year and a half and living together for about a year. They had just got engaged."

Wrexham councillor Bob Dutton expressed his sadness at the discovery of the bodies.

Mr Dutton, the councillor for Erddig, said: "I'm terribly shocked to hear about it, but I'm waiting to hear more details shortly. It's very sad.

"People will be very disturbed about what's happened and want to know the reasons for it.

"We've had heavy rain like everywhere else and the river is running very fast. It's not a particularly deep river - it's quite shallow, but it has been swollen."

Meanwhile the Environmental Ageny is warning today that although the worst of the weather is over, the risk from flooding remains high for those in Yorkshire, especially in York, where the River Ouse has recorded its second-highest level ever.

Pete Fox, Head of Flood Strategy at the Environment Agency, said: "We urge people, especially those living along the Ouse, to continue to be prepared for flooding, sign up for free flood warnings, keep up to date with the latest situation, and stay away from dangerous flood water.

"Our teams have been working around the clock over the last few days to minimise the risks and prepare for flooding and we are continuing to deploy teams across the country to keep communities safe."

As many as 41 flood warnings remain in place across the North of England and Wales, with the waters of the Aire, Derwent, Foss, Ouse, Swale, Wharfe and Ure rivers, all in Yorkshire, high enough to cause floods.

The River Severn, near Bristol, and the Weaver in Cheshire are also at dangerously high levels.

The latest figures show that around 570 properties have flooded across the country since Sunday and the Environment Agency has sent more than 125,000 warnings to people at risk of flooding. The agency has handled more than 11,000 calls to its Floodline.

Families were evacuated from their homes and schools closed on Tuesday as heavy rain battered Teesside and County Durham, and in Newcastle.

And more residents were evacuated today from a block of townhouses in Newburn, Newcastle, after floodwater gouged out the ground beneath the building.

The pilings holding up the block in Newburn, Newcastle, were exposed by erosion earlier this week.

Residents of Spencer Court in Mill Vale have spent the last two nights in temporary accommodation.