3 days ago
Wild swimmers die in Snowdonia pool
Two women have died after wild swimming in a waterfall pool on Mount Snowdon.
A mountain rescue team was called to the Watkin Path up the 3,560ft Welsh peak at 9.31pm on Wednesday after one of the women was pulled from the water. The other woman was rescued after they arrived but both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The eight-mile Watkin Path is one of the steepest paths up Snowdon, which is officially known by its Welsh name Yr Wyddfa. The waterfall pools along the path are among the most popular wild swimming spots in Snowdonia.
Local police, an air ambulance and a coastguard rescue helicopter also scrambled to the mountain. North Wales police are now investigating the women's deaths.
At least three other people have died in separate accidents this year in Snowdonia, also known as Eryri.
Maria Eftimova, 28, a Bulgarian student at the University of Salford, fell 65ft while climbing Tryfan mountain on February 22.
Dr Charlotte Crook, 30, a hospital clinician, slipped on grass and fell 32ft on February 16 while hiking Glyder Fach with her partner.
The body of a man named only as John was found on Snowdon on May 25, after he was reported missing the day before.
• The nation's riskiest hiking spots — and why they're getting busier
The latest deaths in warm weather came as a drought was declared in Yorkshire after one of the driest springs on record, increasing the prospect of summer water restrictions.
The Environment Agency raised the area from 'prolonged dry weather' status, after northwest England last month. Other areas are likely to follow including the east of England.
The agency said wet weather helped to improve reservoir levels, but it was not enough to prevent Yorkshire entering drought. Yorkshire had two thirds of the rain it would usually expect in May. The area has experienced its warmest spring since records started in 1884.
Reservoirs in Yorkshire were 63 per cent full at the end of last month, compared with 94 per cent in May last year.
Dave Kaye, the director of Yorkshire Water, said: 'Without significant rainfall in the coming months, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility.'
Thames Water has said it cannot rule out a hosepipe ban. Severn Trent, which serves the Midlands, is confident it will not need one.
Water company bosses, including Nicola Shaw, the chief executive of Yorkshire Water, are due to join a meeting of the government's national drought group next month.
