A CANOEIST has died after getting into difficulties navigating a swollen beck in North Yorkshire.

Fire crews and water rescue teams were sent to rescue the man, who was in his thirties, from a fast flowing river near Reeth, at about 1pm on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance said: "After a search the man was located and pulled from the water. We took a doctor and paramedic to the scene who worked on the patient at the scene and throughout the flight to James Cook University Hospital.

"This was a large-scale rescue effort involving police, fire, RAF and Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team. Sadly, despite everyone's best efforts, the man was later pronounced dead. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."