Body found in search for missing pensioner Jean Disney who 'fell in river' during Storm Dennis

Jean Disney is believed to have fallen in the River Exe
Handout/Devon and Cornwall Police
Bronwen Weatherby20 February 2020

A body has been found amid the search for an elderly woman believed to have fallen in a river during Storm Dennis.

Jean Disney, 87, was last seen in the Johns Way area of Tiverton at 3am on Monday and was wearing a dark coloured jacket over a dressing gown at the time.

Police were called to reports of a female body near Thorverton Weir at 1.30pm on Thursday.

Mrs Disney's family has been informed of the discovery. Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.

Storm Dennis: UK Flooding aftermath - In pictures

1/25

On Wednesday, police said they believed she may have fallen into the River Exe.

Emergency services had been carrying out searches in the area alongside members of the public.

The force previously warned those searching for Mrs Disney to avoid areas close to the River Exe and “other flooded areas”.

A spokeswoman of Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Formal identification has yet to take place.

“The family of Jean Disney have been made aware.

“At this time, the death is not being treated as suspicious.

“Police would like to thank the Tiverton community and surrounding areas and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and all specialist agencies involved in this complex search operation.”

The news comes after the fourth victim of Storm Dennis was confirmed on Monday to be Yvonne Booth.

The 55-year-old's car was stuck in floodwater before she was pulled into the River Teme on Sunday.

Three others died in the flooding, the bodies of two men were also pulled from rough seas off Kent and a walker died in a fall in the Scottish Highlands.

Another man in his 60s died on Sunday after being pulled from the River Tawe near Trebanos Rugby Club in Wales. Police said his death was not being linked to the bad weather.

The UK was hit by a devastating deluge last weekend when Storm Dennis hit and caused a number of communities across Britain to flood.

Experts have now warned of more "significant flooding" across the UK as downpours over the coming days will hit areas already battered by the storm.

The north of England are expected to be severely affected, while rivers on the English-Welsh border is "probably".

There are currently five danger to life flood warnings posted by the Environment Agency mainly in Hereford.

A total of 91 flood warnings remain in place across England and Wales.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in