Bodies found at diving centre (From Free Press Series)

Bodies found at diving centre

RESCUE teams who spent the weekend searching for two missing divers discovered two bodies in a Tidenham quarry on Monday evening.

Although not formally identified as the Free Press went to press, it is believed the bodies are those of a 25-year-old man, from Ascot, and woman, aged 27, from Sunningdale, who had been missing since Friday.

The couple were diving at the Old Dayhouse Quarry, Tidenham, Gloucestershire, at the National Diving Centre on Friday afternoon.

Staff at the centre first became concerned for the couple's safety after noticing their unattended red Ford Mondeo at closing time.

It waa feared the couple may have become trapped by underground tunnels and ledges at the 80 metre Old Dayhouse quarry - the UK's deepest scuba diving centre.

CID officers sealed off the area during the weekend, while searches were carried out. And on Monday teams of police divers from Wales and Somerset were out searching the murky icy waters of the flooded quarry, armed with an ROV - a small remote control submarine with camera.

A helicopter with heat seeking equipment was also dispatched to try to find the pair as their devastated relatives travelled from Buckinghamshire to visit the scene.

Inspector Robert Vestey, of the Forest of Dean Constabulary, said on Monday afternoon: "We have got two teams of divers searching at the moment, one lot from Wales and one from Somerset. We are using an ROV, remote control camera and submarine because the water is very cold and murky. It is such a big area we need to cover.

"We had the first team of divers go in on Saturday morning. CID made inquiries with the couple's families to rule out whether the couple might have gone on an excusion, and left their car behind at the quarry.

Police were also investigating where they got their air from and what knowledge of equipment they had.

But then came the news that the search appeared to be over.

Gloucester Police said two bodies had been found at a depth of around 70 feet.

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Police said on Tuesday morning: "The bodies have yet to be removed from the quarry and that is due to take place this morning and they have yet to be identified but unfortunately we do believe they are the bodies of the two people we have been searching for."