British couple found dead in car after Spain floods

A British couple missing in Valencia after floods hit the region have been found dead in their car, their daughter has told the BBC. Don Turner, 78, and wife Terry, 74, had not been seen since heavy downpours caused flash floods in eastern Spain.

Their daughter Ruth O'Loughlin, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, confirmed to the BBC that her parents' bodies were found in their car on Saturday. She had previously told the BBC her parents had moved to Spain a decade ago as they "always wanted to live in the sunshine".

She was told the two were missing on Thursday after friends checked on them and found their pets at home, but their vehicle gone. Terry had told friends they were "popping out" to get some gas, she said. More than 200 people have been confirmed dead in the flooding disaster so far.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man and woman who have died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."

The storms have now dumped rain on Barcelona, prompting authorities to suspend commuter rail services. Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he was suspending all commuter trains in north-east Catalonia, a region with a population of eight million, on request from civil protection officials.

Mobile phones in Barcelona issued an alert over "extreme and continued rainfall" on the southern outskirts of the city. The alert urged people to avoid any normally dry gorges or canals.

Mr Puente said that the rains had forced air traffic controllers to change the course of 15 flights operating at Barcelona's airport, located on the southern flank of the city. Several major roads have been closed due to flooding.

Classes were cancelled in Tarragona, a city in southern Catalonia about halfway between Barcelona and Valencia, after a red alert for rains was issued. Meanwhile, in Valencia, the search continued for bodies inside houses and thousands of wrecked cars strewn in the streets, on major roads, and in canals that channelled last week's deluge into populated areas. Citizens, volunteers and thousands of soldiers and police officers are helping in the gargantuan clean-up effort of mud and debris.