Yacht racing QC dies in hospital

Mr Thompson was on the yacht, the Avocet

A Northern Ireland QC critically injured in a yachting accident in the Caribbean has died.

John Thompson, 54, from Carnalea near Bangor was competing in a transatlantic yacht race when he was hit by the boom of the sail during storms last Friday.

He suffered a serious head injury to the left side of his face.

The injured lawyer was transferred to a cruise ship with two doctors on board and then taken to hospital in Barbados, where he was receiving treatment.

His wife Tina and son Daniel flew to his side and maintained a bedside vigil until his death.

Mr Thompson was a long-standing member of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Bangor where he moored his yacht in the marina.

The race he was taking part in started in Gran Canaria last month and finishes in Saint Lucia.