Police in plea over lost canoes

Police in Devon are asking users of rivers and owners of canoes to report it when they go missing in bad weather.

The plea comes after the discovery of an empty canoe prompted a search of the river at Lynmouth in Devon on Saturday.

Police, coastguards and the RAF Search and Rescue helicopter joined the search.

But no-one was found and there have been no reports of missing canoeists. The canoe could not be recovered because of the fast-flowing river.

A police spokesperson said: "We cannot just assume that the canoes have been carried away empty.

"We would encourage canoeists and other persons using our rivers to report the loss of craft and other equipment, such as lifejackets, to avoid unnecessary deployment of resources."