Couple die in 120-feet car plunge

A retired British couple died when their hire car plunged 120 feet down a steep bank on New Zealand's South Island.

Thomas Irvine, 66, and his wife Renee, 65, of St Helens in Merseyside, were found near the coastal town of Kaikoura at 1500 hrs local time on Wednesday.

Police believe the couple probably lay undiscovered for 24 hours before their bodies were found.

Mrs Irvine was in the car and her husband was 30 feet away.

'Poor weather'

The wreckage of their car was found at the bottom of a steep bank by a local person.

A Christchurch police spokesman said: "They rolled down a bank and landed upside down in a creek.

"We are investigating what happened. One possible explanation is the weather, which can get pretty bad at this time of year.

"It's quite a busy road, but we think they weren't discovered for a while because they had fallen quite a way and were not visible from the road."

The couple had arrived in Christchurch two days before the accident.

They were driving north along the main state highway to Picton.

They had ferry tickets to take them from there to the capital, Wellington, on the North Island.

The couple's relatives in Britain have been informed about the accident.