Man, 42, dies after falling off paddle board and getting tangled in moorings

A holidaymaker has died after falling from a paddle board and becoming tangled in moorings.

The 42-year-old man fell into the water near the sailing club at Rock beach in Cornwall.

A local boat tried to rescue him but then got into trouble itself at about 1.30pm on Monday.

The male, who was believed to have been visiting the area from his home in Chelmsford, Essex, was pronounced dead at the scene.

James Instance, from Falmouth Coastguard, said: ‘A couple of people had been out on paddle boards on the Camel Estuary with a flooding tide.

‘With the water moving quite quickly, they had come off the boards and then got tangled in moorings in the area.

‘That had caused a problem when they were unable to free themselves.’

Mr Instance said that despite a major rescue operation involving paramedics, the lifeboat crew and others, one of the males was declared dead at the scene.

As part of the rescue a local boat went in and managed to free him and recovered him into his vessel.

‘They then tried to bring him to shore, but then got into a little bit of trouble and fired a red flare,’ he added.

The Padstow Harbour boat, Rock RNLI and Polzeath Coastguard teams were also involved in the incident. 

TV chef Gordon Ramsay purchased a 1920s property for £4.4million in Rock village 2015.