River Deaths: Police Name 'Dog Rescue' Couple

A young couple who may have drowned in the River Clywedog in North Wales trying to rescue their pet dog have been named by police.

The body of 25-year-old Alicia Marie Williams, who has a young daughter, was discovered on a sand bank in a shallow part of the river near Erddig on Wednesday by someone walking their dog.

A search team found the body of her boyfriend David Platt, also 25, in the early hours of this morning.

Both are from the Wrexham area and had been together for more than two years. Post-mortems will be carried out on Friday.

The couple had been with their five dogs when the tragedy occurred. All the animals have since been accounted for.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Pierce, of North Wales Police, said the deaths were being treated as unexplained.

He said the families of the couple were suffering a "huge amount of distress".

"The two deaths are unexplained but the likely scenario is at the moment that there was unfortunately a tragic accident.

"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."

Witness Michael Morgan, who works at a car wash near the entrance of Erddig Country Park, said he was alerted by a whippet which came into his car wash.

He said: "I was on my knees buffing a car and I turned round and there was a dog licking my ear.

"This dog was too good for a stray, he was in beautiful condition."

Mr Morgan followed the animal into the park and saw three more dogs sitting by a Citroen Picasso, which is thought to have belonged to the couple.

An ambulance then appeared and he opened gates for it to get across a field to the river, where he said Ms Williams' body was found.

He added: "If it wasn't for the whippet, we wouldn't have known the dogs were there."

The River Clywedog was swollen following heavy rain and North Wales Fire Service's water recovery team were assisting the search.

A fire service spokeswoman described the river as "fast flowing" on Wednesday and warned people to be careful when approaching waterways following extreme weather.

She said: "Rivers may appear safe but fast-flowing currents are dangerous."